Reborn
by Ari Soreno
Summary: After being separated from Limdo, Takiko is reborn as an aspiring actress and model in modern day New York. Unfortunately there is a little hitch when Takiko and Limdo meet up again.
1. Opening

Takiko grabbed desperately for Limdo as the light started to engulf her body. She knew that this would happen when she had used up her wishes, and she had tried to wish for them to be together but Genbu would not allow it. And she had known that wouldn't work either, hadn't everyone told her as much? But she had refused to believe it, refused to even consider a life without Limdo. Now reality was crashing down around them, and she couldn't do anything to change it.

"I love you!" She cried desperately, the sobs causing her body to shake uncontrollably. "I will never stop loving you!" Suddenly something whizzed past her hair, she turned her head to look at what it was just as the arrow landed on the wall next to them.

"I know," Limdo replied pulling her face back to face his as she started to fade, desperation filling his eyes as well. "Takiko, I want you to know, no matter how many lives I live I will find you. I will find you and we _will _be together. Nothing can keep us apart." Now he too looked at the advancing enemy, a grim expression crossing his face.

"I know, I know that. I will wait for you, just don't die now, please don't die now!" Limdo Turned back to Takiko a sad smile on his face. It was to late though; he and everything else disappeared leaving her alone in the space between worlds. As Takiko started to fade back into her own world she heard two words drifting on the wind.

"I'll try."

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

**So, welcome everyone to Reborn. I'm Ari your writer, and this is my first Fan Fic. This is just the opening to the story, I'm sorry it's so short but it just sets it up. I hope you like the story, please review!**

**Ari**

**  
I do not own Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden. If I did that would be pretty cool, but sadly I don't.  
**


	2. Chapter 1

Takiko opened her eyes slowly, blinking them against the bright light streaming in through her window. Throwing aside her sheets she walked hesitantly towards the harsh light. Was it really this late, she thought to herself as she opened the glass panes a few inches letting in the crisp morning air. It was winter brake and she still wasn't used to sleeping in past 7:00. She had woken up before dawn every other morning; of course the one day she needed to wake up early she had slept in.

After brushing her teeth and going through the rest of her daily routine Takiko started shuffling through her drawers, after much debate she decided on a pair of jeans and dark green halter top. She closed her drawers and looked around for her scarf and hat, spotting the end on the scarf under a pile of magazines on her desk. Takiko tugged on the end of the scarf causing the pile of magazines to topple to the ground.

Heaving a sigh she leaned over and picked up her knitted black and green scarf, revealing the cover of the magazine on top:

**THE NEW FACE OF FASHION: TAKIKO GIVES AN ASIAN TWIST TO NEW YORK STYLE**

Looking up from her picture Takiko spotted the matching hat to her scarf and pulled it onto her head not bothering to brush her naturally straight hair. Finally she glanced at the clock: 11:23, it was way past the time she had planned on being up if she wanted to get everything done today.

Hurrying to pull on the rest of her clothes Takiko walked into the living room/kitchen in her small apartment. The sleek black furniture and flat screen TV gave the room a modern feel, highlighted even more by the modern art on the wall. Even the kitchen had a metallic, black and silver feel to it with the stainless steel refrigerator, black cabinets, and gray marble counter tops. When she got to the kitchen she pulled open the refrigerator door and stuffed a bagel in her mouth, no time to make breakfast, closing the door she looked around for paper and a pencil. After grabbing one of her hot pink sticky notes and a pen she opened the refrigerator door again, making a list of all the things she would need from the market.

After Takiko was satisfied with her list she made her way to the door, grabbed the black trench coat off the hanger in the hallway, locked her apartment door behind her, and stuffed the list into her sleek black leather purse.

Takiko started making her way towards the elevator that would take into the lobby, but she stopped when she saw the boxes piled in front of her neighbor's door. Curious she peered in through the open door.

"Hey, Marry, what's up?" She asked while trying not to fall over the boxes at her feet.

"Oh, Takiko, why don't you come in? I was just finishing up with the packing before Craig gets back with the truck we're renting." Takiko made her way gingerly through the maze of boxes, carefully avoiding injury. Finally she came to the living room where Marry, her middle aged neighbor, sat wrapping things and putting them into boxes.

"I didn't know you where moving." Takiko said as she sat down next to Marry and started helping put things away.

"Well it is sudden, but Craig finally got the break he was looking for. He got accepted into a major cosmetic company in L.A. and we have to be there in week. Craig thought it would be a nice idea to take a cross country trip instead of flying and hiring movers." Marry pulled wrapping over a particularly large silver platter and Takiko helped her lift it into its box.

"That's great, Marry! I'm so happy for you and Craig; I'm going to miss you around her though. I doubt my next neighbor will make apple pies as well as you do." Takiko smiled brightly at the lady she had gotten to know over the past two years they had lived next door to each other.

"Speaking of Apple pies, I baked two today. I want you to have one and give the other one to the person who gets this apartment next. Sort of as a welcome to the building gift, know what I mean? I know that you aren't the best at baking." They both started laughing; remembering Takiko's several unsuccessful attempts at making baked goods.

"Honey? The truck is ready for us to start packing stuff in." A male voice called from the doorway, Takiko recognized it as Craig, Marry's husband. Takiko stood up and brushed off some of the newspaper bits that had piled up in her lap.

"Well if you don't need anymore help I'll be on my way. I really will miss you, be sure to write. I'll be waiting to hear what L.A. is like." Takiko reluntantly started making her way to the door. She had seen the other three men outside the doorway along with Craig; they had already started picking up boxes.

"I'll miss you too Takiko and we will write." Marry's remorse was apparent in her voice as she hugged Takiko and led her the rest of the way to the door. On the way she picked up two pies that had been sitting on top a large stack of boxes marked kitchen. Takiko said a quick thank you and went back to her apartment, nodding a goodbye to Craig on the way.

She juggled the pies as she unlocked her apartment, thinking of who might be her next neighbor. After putting the pies away Takiko sighed again, it was good she had helped and said goodbye but she was going to be even later than before if she didn't hurry through the shopping. Rushing along the hallway to the elevators she pushed the button for ground floor and hopped in smiling at the couple in the elevator with her. When she finally got to the ground she hurried to the door almost knocking into the doorman.

She said a quick sorry, he had been giving directions to a young man who was walking away toward the elevator she had just come out of. Suddenly a chill shot through her that had nothing to do with the weather since the doors were shut securely. She turned just in time to see a ponytail of chocolate colored hair disappearing when the elevator doors closed. Takiko shook away the strange feeling that had come over her turning back towards the doors.

"Leaving Miss Okuda?" The doorman asked her.

"Yes George, I should be back later this afternoon if my manager comes looking for me again." Takiko nodded at him as she stepped out onto the cold streets of New York City.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

**Hi again everyone! Here is the first chapter, once again setting things up for later on. If you didn't quite get the summary this story is based in New York City modern times, Takiko is a model and hoping to become an actress. As for the rest of what is going on you have to read! I really hope you like it.  
Ari**

**Once again, I do not own Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden **


	3. Chapter 2

Takiko walked along at a brisk pace towards the farmer's market that was a few blocks away from her apartment building. The cold air whipped around her, channeled down the streets between the many skyscrapers. She breathed in the scents of the city, some more likable than others, and followed her nose to a stand selling roasted nuts. This was her favorite part about New York around the holidays, she thought as she gleefully munched on her honey roasted almonds.

Upon arrival at the market she pulled out her list and dove into the crowds of people, all looking for the freshest food products you could buy. The market was the best place to shop since you really got the flavor of the city, from the pastries to the whole pigs you could find every food item imaginable. Finally after about two hours of haggling and buying Takiko started heading out towards the door.

_**BBBBBBBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR**_

Takiko jumped at the sudden buzzing noise coming from her purse, and then started to laugh despite the people around her who were looking at her like she was crazy. Triumphantly she pulled out her shiny new pink cell phone, the first one she'd ever had.

"Hello." Takiko pleasantly asked into her phone.

"Hey Takiko, where are you right now?" A female voice asked from the other end.

"Oh hey Nancy," Takiko recognized the voice of her manager, it never seemed to lose the edge of irritation, "I just finished up grocery shopping and I'm heading home now."

"Well that's good that you have such a luxury as free time on your hands, might I point out to you the time?" Takiko stared blankly at the phone as if it were a real person. What did she mean by that, luxury of free time? Takiko glanced down at her watch, curious what her manager had meant.

"HOLY CRAP I'M GOING TO MISS THE SHOOT!!!!"

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Takiko planted her hands on her knees as she leaned over, panting and wheezing. It had taken up most of her stamina to run back to her building with grocery bags in tow, hail a cab, and then run madly through the building she was doing her modeling shoot in to find the right room.

"Takiko, what kind of state are you in, out of breath and sweating? You do know what sweat will do to your makeup, and we can't have that. Girls please take Miss Okuda and prep her for the shoot." Takiko glared up at her manager Nancy, the woman seemed to have no sympathy. But before she could come up with a brilliant comeback she was engulfed in a crowd of women who started pulling her clothes off.

"Wait, hey! Can't you at least wait till we're in the dressing room for that?!" Takiko protested as they dragged her off.

After a half hour passed Takiko finally walked back out into the main room where the camera and lights were set up. Going with the new Asian style she had made popular the wardrobe for the shoot was a kimono like top with winter colors and patterns, a ribbon ran around and tied in the back to create an empire waist line. Since a teen magazine would be running the pictures they had chosen a more casual look and put her in a pair of jeans. Her hair was pulled into a half ponytail with wisps in front, silver shadow lined her eyes.

"Wonderful, they managed to make you look decent." Nancy stated, clapping her hands together to show how pleased she was, Takiko just smiled and took the directions for poses. "Oh, and did I mention that the New York Times wants to do a segment on you for their next Sunday issue? The photo shoot and interview for that will be on Thursday. Next week you have auditions all through Monday and Tuesday for more photo shoots and some runway shows. On Wednesday we have an audition for the upcoming musical, Masterpiece. I'm giving you Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off for Christmas. Remember, just because your school lets you off doesn't mean your job will too." Nancy smiled at that as if it was something to be happy about, Takiko only groaned in reply. As if school wasn't enough on its own, she had her own personal drill sergeant making sure her days were filled audition, after audition, after audition. She couldn't complain too much though, in the two years since Takiko moved to the U.S. she had made a name for herself all thanks to Nancy. Well Nancy and several professional makeup and hair stylists.

"Great job everybody; this will be published in our January issue." The director finally called as people started putting lights and props away. Takiko worked her way through getting her makeup and clothes off, by the time she was back into her own clothes it was after six.

"Time flies when you're having fun." Takiko sarcastically muttered as she stepped into the elevator by herself. (Nancy had been called away on some emergency or another.) It took another 20 minutes to get to her apartment building from there; by the time she made it home she was completely exhausted.

On the way through the lobby she remembered the events of the morning and thought of the apple pie waiting for her upstairs, well pies since there were two. That reminded her…

"Excuse me Sir, has anyone moved into apartment 31A today?" Takiko had to check if someone had moved in so she could know if she could deliver the pie or not. She also had to make sure because if someone didn't move in in a week she would probably eat the pie herself.

"Yes Miss Okuda, someone moved in this morning just as the previous tenants moved out. Would you like me to leave them a message?" The clerk at the front desk asked her, while staring at the computer screen in front of him, ready to type as soon as she started talking.

"That won't be necessary, but thank you anyway." Takiko once again made her way through the lobby and up the elevator, arriving at the 31st floor were she lived in apartment 31B. After setting her things down she took out some ingredients and started to make dinner. While she was cooking she decided that whoever had moved in next door probably wouldn't be settled in yet and should have at least until tomorrow before anyone came to visit. Takiko nodded to herself, satisfied with the decision, though she knew the only reason the thought had crossed her mind was because she was too lazy to go over there now.

"Oh well, you know what they say: Why do today what you can put off till tomorrow?" Takiko mumbled to herself as she pulled on her pajamas, closed her window, and snuggled under the covers.

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

The next day Takiko woke up on time, which was good since she had no free time that day and if she had slept in her manager would probably be at her door with a knife ready to stab her. She brushed her teeth, washed her face, took a shower, and put on her makeup, not really caring to do that much with it since she knew that she would be attacked by makeup artists as soon as she got to the auditions. Since she was going to have to show how she walked she put on a pair of flowing grey pants with pink pin stripes that would accent her movements. For a shirt she picked a pink lacey camisole with a cute puffy sleeved suit top that matched her pants. To top it off she placed a puffy hat with the bill on the side that was grey with pinstripes as well over her free flowing hair. All set she thought as she walked out of her apartment on time and in high spirits.

The entire day continued that way, good audition after good audition. She wouldn't know the official results until at least a week later, but judging from the reactions she had gotten she had done exceedingly well. So well, in fact, that she got home in the early after noon instead of the evening.

Looking around at her empty apartment Takiko couldn't decide what to do with her free time. It had been so long since she actually had any time on her hands that she was afraid she had forgotten even forgotten how to read. She scanned the living room, looking for something to do with her time. Her eyes finally rested on the untouched apple pie. An evil grin spread across her face as she slowly made her way towards the pie.

A few minutes later Takiko was at the door of her new neighbor, pie in hand. Not just pie though, she had the pie on a pink platter reading: Welcome to the Building! in huge purple curly writing. Also on the platter was a basket full of maps of the city and brochures for restaurants close by the apartment building. Takiko also managed to dump almost her entire stash of candy into one giant bowl; she had to unload the temptation on someone else.

Takiko put on a huge smile and knocked on the door to the apartment next to hers. After a few seconds she heard a young man's voice call out "coming!"

Well that's a surprise, Takiko thought as she stood there with her bright pink plate. She now felt kind of stupid for making assumptions that it would be a girl moving in next door.

Finally the door opened "Hello, I'm your neighbor, Takiko, and I'd just like to welcome you to the building." Takiko had to look up to see the face of the person she was talking to.

She gasped and nearly dropped the pie when she looked into silver eyes.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

**Hello again! I'm so glad I finished this chapter today, my friend is sleeping over and while she's reading I'm writing. Anyway, I'd like to report an error I made in the previous chapter having to do with the hair color of the ponytail on the strange person, I was getting a little adjective crazy and not really paying attention and my friend pointed it out. The correct color is dark brown, not topaz. I was thinking topaz was a different color than it is but apparently I was wrong, oh well. I'm going to go back and correct it, but for all of you who have already read it (no matter how small the number) I just wanted to report it. It also came to my attention that for some reason the reviews were set so that you couldn't enter them if they were anonymous, that has now been fixed. That means that you now have no excuse for not submitting reviews! MWAHAHAHAHA!!!! That's all for now, thanks and see you next chapter.  
Ari**

**p.s. I do not own Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden**


	4. Chapter 3

Takiko gasped and then scrambled to right the pile of gifts in her hand. She started to mumble under her breath about stupid girls who excite too easily when she looked up and realized the man was staring down at her. She quickly turned a beet red.

"I'm so sorry, your eyes… They're just such an unusual color." Takiko tried to smooth over her slip up by smiling and extending the pile in her arms toward him. "I brought you some welcome to the building gifts. Just a few things that will help you get more assimilated with life here." Takiko handed them to him as he looked at her strangely, almost calculating her next move. "Uh, well, what did you say your name was again…?" Takiko stammered and looked away from his face; it was like he knew something about her that she didn't know herself.

"I didn't. Say my name I mean. It's Limdo, nice to meet you Takiko." He smiled at her and waited for her to say something, finally frowning when she just stood there avoiding his eyes. "Don't you recognize me at all…?" He asked, a puzzled look adding to the frown on his face.

"No… Why would I?" Takiko took a step back, this guy was creeping her out.

"Are you sure, how about from this angle, or this?" He started turning this way and that and then looking at her expectantly.

"I'm sorry, but I really don't recognize you. You must have mistaken me for someone else." Takiko backed up, out of his reach. "Well, it was –err- nice meeting you. Gotta go; bye!" She rushed down the hall into her apartment, slamming the door shut behind her. She stood there, with her back to the door, for a moment.

"Oh hey," She finally said to herself, "That was the same guy I saw go into the elevator, same hair color and ponytail." Shrugging off this little tidbit of information Takiko realized how tired she was, looking at the clock she figured out why: it was past 12:00. "Time for bed,"

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

The next day was busier than the last; you would think a newcomer wouldn't be that busy. But since Takiko was a popular newcomer she was extremely busy. By the end of the day she was out of breath and dead tired.

"What is wrong with you? A young girl like you should be bouncing back from anything, when I was your age nothing fazed me." Nancy sat next to Takiko in the back of the car the agency provided, busily scribbling down notes and changes to her schedule. Takiko just rolled her eyes as she stared out at the busy streets going by.

When they arrived at her apartment the driver opened her car door and she started out, head turning around to stare at her. She noticed one particular ponytailed head turn, one that she wanted to avoid. Takiko ducked her head and started to walk quickly into the building.

"Takiko, wait!" Limdo started pushing his way through the people on the sidewalk making towards Takiko. "I need to talk to you!" Takiko started pushing her way faster towards the elevators; she really wanted to get away from this weirdo.

"That's okay, I'm really busy right now, and I'll talk to you later!" She called over the crowd, backing up as she did so. Unfortunately he was making considerable progress and was almost in the elevator.

"Hold the door!" Limdo called, waving his hands in the air.

"CLOSE THE DOOR!!!" Takiko called even louder.

At the same time that they were both yelling the doors closed, leaving Takiko in the elevator and Limdo outside. Takiko breathed a sighed of relief, rubbing her forehead where a headache had formed.

She stepped out of the elevator with people staring at her as she walked out. As she opened her door she noticed a shadow had fallen over her, grabbing the pepper spray on her keychain she turned around slowly.

"TAKE THIS YOU RAPEST!!!!!!!" She pressed down on the button and a stream of spray come out. She had not taken into consideration that the guy would be so tall, all the spray went straight into his shirt. She looked up to see who the man was, and was extremely confused to find it was her new neighbor, Limdo.

"Um… This is kind of awkward…" Takiko started sidling backwards into her apartment. "I'm really sorry about that, but you know you shouldn't surprise people like that."

"Well this wouldn't have happened if you had just held the elevator." Limdo started walking towards Takiko, blocking the path of the door.

"I told you, I'm busy right now so we'll have to talk later. Okay, bye now." Takiko tried closing the door to find that Limdo was in the way. She started banging it on him, hoping to force him back.

"OW, OW! STOP, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?" Limdo held up his arms to defend himself from the door.

"Oh, I'm sorry, where you there? I just wanted to close the door." Takiko banged to door one more time and finally forced Limdo back.

"Wait Takiko, I really want to talk to you!" Limdo called through the closed doors.

"You and every other freak in the city, buddy." Takiko mumbled to herself as she locked the door and the extra locks just to be sure. She walked into the living room and stopped. "How did he get up here so fast if he missed the elevator?" Takiko shrugged then went about her business, the banging on the door finally fading.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

**Yo! Ari you're writer here again, broadcasting from my computer. So I apologize for taking so long to post, I got sick then went on vacation. Then I was just lazy. But my friend Sango came in and tried to kill me if I didn't update. It's short again, but that's because I wanted to update. Anyway, you people better review! I mean seriously! I reveiw every story I read so you should do the same. Maybe I didn't update because you people didn't reveiw. Then again, probably three people read this so... Anyhoo, see you next chapter!**

**Peace Out!  
Ari  
**


	5. Chapter 4

It had been a week since her odd encounter with her neighbor and since then there had been no sightings, as Takiko liked to call them. As soon as she had gotten over the constant checking over her shoulder Takiko slipped back into the regular routine of her life. The busy days kept her mind off anything else and the past week had been busier than usual. Between shoots, runway shows, and auditions for more shoots and runway shows her manager had her practicing for the audition for an upcoming musical.

Takiko had been waiting for this audition for awhile, acting was the real reason she had moved from Japan to New York. She had just happened into modeling when her agency had heard she had no formal acting training. It seemed to them that it was easier to learn how to walk than learn how to act. Even though her rather small height was brought into question several times she had proven to be a natural at modeling and had been stuck with the career ever since.

As she walked into the big theatre she untied her big black coat and put it on the hanger next to several others. Takiko stared around her and marveled at the masterful ironwork that made up the railings for all the balconies, she ran her hands over the red clothe on the chairs.

Yes, she thought to herself, this is where I should be and everything up to this point has been a little detour.

"Miss Okuda, this way please." Takiko looked up, surprised, and then followed the man who was wearing a black t-shirt that said STAFF on it to the main area of the theatre. He introduced her to the writer and director, the producer, and the rest of the panel that would decide the actors. The man then led her backstage to where all the other people who would be trying out were standing around. He left her there and she started to survey her competition. Some were just standing around, others were doing vocal warm-ups. They all seemed very tense and unfriendly, all except one who waved and started coming towards her.

"Oh no. God, why do you torture me so?" Takiko fought the urge to run as Limdo sauntered over to her. He seemed quite happy and relaxed; a big smile lit his face.

"Hello Takiko, fancy meeting you here. You're trying out for this musical too?" Limdo asked her, one hand in the back pocket of his jeans, the other brushing some of his bangs aside. He seemed rather suspicious to Takiko.

Yeah right, like you just_ happened_ to show up at the same audition as me, she wanted to say.

"Why yes I am, that would be about the only reason for being here, wouldn't it?" Takiko managed to growl out through clenched teeth.

"Whoa, hold up," Limdo put his hands out to emphasize what he was saying, "Why are you so angry all of a sudden? I haven't done anything to you have I?"

Takiko opened her mouth to reply, but then promptly shut it when she realized he hadn't in fact done anything wrong. Well, nothing _really_wrong. All he had done was creeped her out and surprised her, not a crime at all. She was saved at that moment though when the announcer called her for her audition.

She waved goodbye to Limdo and walked onto the stage, her black off the shoulder sweater making her hot under all the lights.

"Miss Okuda, Please act out the pages you where given, this will be your partner for now."

Takiko ran through the lines she had been rehearsing with ease. This wasn't the part she was worried about, that part was coming up next.

When she finished talking the judges all had smiles on their faces, a good sign. They were all busily scribbling down notes and glancing back up at her. Finally it was time.

"Miss Okuda, would you please sing the song that you have prepared for us." Takiko nodded as she broke out in a sweat that had nothing to do with the lights blaring down on her. The music started to play and she opened her mouth and sang.

**Just moved in to 14G**

**So cozy, calm, and peaceful**

**Heaven for a mouse like me**

**With quiet by the lease-full**

**Pets are banned, parties too**

**And no solicitations **

**Window seat with garden view**

**A perfect nook to read a book**

**I'm lost in my Jane Austen when I hear**

**[Dramatic opera**

**Say it isn't so**

**Not the flat below**

**From an opera wanna be**

**In 13G**

**A matinee of some cantata**

**Wagner's Ring**

**And Traviata**

**[Dramatic opera**

**My first night in 14G**

**I'll put up with Puccini**

**Brew myself a cup of tea**

**Crochet until she's _fini_**

**Half past eight**

**Not a peep**

**Except the clock tick-tockin'**

**Now I lay me down to sleep**

**A comfy bed to rest my head**

**A stretch, a yawn, I'm almost gone when**

**[Scatting noisily**

**Now the girl upstairs**

**Wakes me unawares**

**Blowing down from 15G**

**Her reveille**

**She's scattin like her name is Ella**

**Guess who answers a cappella**

**[escalating transitions between scatting and opera**

**I'm not one to**

**Raise my voice**

**Make a fuss**

**Or speak my mind**

**But might I query**

**Would you mind if**

**Could you kindly**

**STOP-!**

**That felt good**

**STOP-!**

**13, 15, 14G**

**A most**

**unlikely trio**

**Not quite three part harmony**

**All day and night we're singing**

**[All three sing**

**Had my fill of peace and quiet **

**Shout out loud**

**I've changed my diet**

**All because of **

**14G-**

Takiko stopped singing and looked at the judges, a timid smile on her face. They all just stared at her, none of them writing notes, finally one got up.

"Well, Miss Okuda, I have to say we are all very surprised." The women got up and walked towards the stage.

Oh no, Takiko thought, now I've done it. I'm so bad they'll kick me out right now.

The women hopped up on stage and made her way towards Takiko. Takiko cringed back, afraid of what she was going to hear.

"Congratulations, you have just made it into the finals," Takiko mouth hung open in astonishment and she started blankly as the women shook her hand. "I'm Alyssa, the one in charge of the music for the show. You show great talent, please wait for the other participants to finish their auditions and then the finals will begin.

Takiko was still too surprised to speak; she made her way into the green room and sat in one of the empty chairs.

She sat there, and sat there, and sat there, no thoughts running through her head. When it was finally time to go back on stage someone had to come up and shake her. She looked up to see who would be so rude as to shake someone and looked into the smiling silver eyes of Limdo.

"It's time for the final round of auditions to start, everyone is already leaving but you were just sitting here. I thought I'd see if you were still alive." Limdo started leading her to the door to the stage and they both came out to stand next to each other in the line of ten people.

"Welcome back everyone, we will now begin the final round of auditions." This time it was Alyssa announcing everything. She had a small pile of papers in one hand and pencil in the other. "Each of you will be auditioning in pairs; we have selected who we want to work together already. Whichever group gets picked will be the leading man and lady of the show. I have here a piece of music that will require both acting and singing skill. All of you will have an hour to prepare the piece, and then you will perform it onstage. When I call your names please step forward and get your music, pianos are available in the green room. You may practice anywhere you like in the building except the stage and main area here. A tape with the accompaniment along with a stereo will be provided in the green room as well. Good luck to you all."

Alyssa started calling out names, the group got smaller and smaller until only Takiko, Limdo, and two other people were left.

Please let me be with someone else, please let me be with someone else, Takiko started running over and over in her mind. She didn't understand we she hated him so much, she just did.

"Takiko and…"

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

**Hullo, Ari's back again. This chapter was kind of interesting... I knew I wanted to add this in since the beginning but I had to lead up to it. The musical she is trying out for is called Masterpiece, in fact if you check back to chapter 2 you will find Takiko's schedule for the week that she's in now. Also, the piece she sings was originally sung by Kristin Chenoweth, if you do not who she is, shame on you! She was the original Glinda in the musical Wicked. That's all for now, don't forget to review!**

**Ciao for now!  
Ari**

**I do not own Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden, or The Girl in 14G **


	6. Chapter 5

"Takiko and..." Takiko crossed her fingers waiting for the name to come, "Limdo. The two who are left are also a pair, please come up to get your music."

Takiko stood there, too stunned to move. Limdo walked up and grabbed the music then led her out of the stage area into one of the hallways. Takiko was still in a dazed state and didn't realize he was talking to her until he was on his last sentence.

"So do you agree?" Limdo looked at her expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"Excuse me, could you repeat what you said? I didn't quite hear you." Takiko felt extremely uncomfortable as he looked at her. The same way he had when they had first met, almost as if he knew some secret that had to do with her. Something she didn't know herself. She had been avoiding his gaze until that moment, she decided that that only made her seem more timid. She looked him straight in the eyes.

"Ow!" Takiko dropped to her knees, a searing pain shooting through her head. She clutched her head, Limdo dropping to his knees next to her, looking at her with concern. An image flashed into Takiko's vision, cutting in front of Limdo.

Takiko looked up and saw a woman chained to a large pillar, it was cold and there was snow all around them. Suddenly the women opened her mouth-

"Takiko let me get some help." Takiko snapped back into reality, just as Limdo got up and started looking around for someone on the staff.

"No, that's okay," Takiko help up a hand to show him to wait, slowly getting up, "the worst of it has passed." She brushed off some of the dirt and dust that had gotten on her knees. He looked at her like she was crazy, and she probably was. Normal people don't see things when they get bad headaches, or do they? Takiko had never had a headache this bad before so maybe it was normal.

Oh well, can't stop now, Takiko thought, I've got an audition to finish.

Takiko and Limdo started walking through the halls, looking for a good place to practice. There really wasn't much room without other people nearby, so after a few minutes of looking around they stopped.

"Look," Takiko said, "Obviously we're not going to find a place to ourselves so we might as well just practice here."

"Great idea, the roof is a perfect place to practice." Limdo moved past Takiko and opened the door she was standing in front of.

"Are you crazy? We can't practice on the roof, it's way too cold!" Takiko started following him anyway.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine." Limdo started walking up the few flights of stairs to the roof, Takiko in tow. She looked down at the miniskirt she was wearing; she had obviously not counted on being outside today.

When they reached the top Limdo opened the door and stepped outside, a slight wind tugging at his hair. Takiko followed after, a grimace on her face.

"See? I told you it would be too col-"Takiko broke off when the wind that she had thought would be freezing turned out to be warm. "Now that's just _weird" _She thought aloud," Must be from the ventilation system."

"Yeah, the ventilation system" Limdo said, a mocking smile on his face.

"What?" Takiko frowned.

"Oh nothing, let's look at the music." Limdo looked down, his eyes shifting back and forth as he read the lines. A smile slowly spread across his face.

"Let me see that!" Takiko stomped up and grabbed the music from his hands. She started reading the lines and a look of horror crossed her face. "You can't be serious!?!"

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Limdo and Takiko stood next to each off stage; they had had to run to make it before the time limit was up. As they stood there a man came up to tell them that they were up next so they better be ready.

"_Are_ you ready?" Limdo asked Takiko.

"Of course! Are _you_?"

"Yes." A strange looked crossed Limdo eyes, "Takiko, I-"

"Limdo and Takiko, you're up!" Before Limdo could finish they were pushed out onto the stage. The both looked at each other, and then the music started to play.

**Takiko;**

**We were strangers**

**Starting out on a journey**

**Never dreaming**

**What we'd have to go through**

**Now here we are**

**And I'm suddenly standing**

**At the beginning with you**

**Limdo;No one told me**

**I was going to find you**

**Unexpected**

**What you did to my heart**

**When I lost hope**

**You were there to remind me**

**This is the start**

**(both)**

**Life is a road**

**And I want to keep going**

**Love is a river**

**I wanna keep flowing**

**Life is a road**

**Now and forever**

**Wonderful journey**

**I'll be there**

**When the world stops turning**

**I'll be there**

**When the storm is through**

**In the end I wanna be standing**

**At the beginning with you**

**Takiko;**

**We were strangers**

**On a crazy adventure**

**Limdo;**

**Never dreaming**

**How our dreams would come true**

**(both)**

**Now here we stand**

**Unafraid of the future**

**At the beginning with you**

**Life is a road**

**And I want to keep going**

**Love is a river**

**I wanna keep flowing**

**Life is a road**

**Now and forever**

**Wonderful journey**

**I'll be there**

**When the world stops turning**

**I'll be there**

**When the storm is through**

**In the end I wanna be standing**

**At the beginning with you**

**(still both)**

**I knew there was somebody somewhere**

**Like me alone in the dark**

**Now I know my dream will live on**

**I've been waiting so long**

**Nothing's gonna tear us apart**

**Life is a road**

**And I want to keep going**

**Love is a river**

**I wanna keep flowing**

**Life is a road**

**Now and forever**

**Wonderful journey**

**I'll be there**

**When the world stops turning**

**I'll be there**

**When the storm is through**

**In the end I wanna be standing**

**At the beginning with you**

**Life is a road and I wanna keep going**

**Love is a river I wanna keep going on...**

**Starting out on a journey**

**Life is a road and I wanna keep going**

**Love is river I wanna keep flowing**

**In the end I wanna be standing**

**At the beginning with you.**

They stopped singing and looked out at the judges. Alyssa had been right; the piece did require a lot of acting skill since Takiko certainly did not like Limdo in any way, shape, or form. Having to act like she did had taken a lot of work, but it seemed they had done well. The judges all looked pleased as they scribbled down notes.

Takiko walked off stage when they were dismissed and went into the green room. She sat there, with Limdo taking a seat next to her, and waited in silence until all the other pairs were finished. It was surprising to her that Limdo hadn't tried to talk to her, when she risked a glance in his direction he was just staring off into space, completely lost in thought.

After about half an hour of waiting the judging panel walked into the green room and posted a paper on the wall. Everyone got up and started circling around it, Takiko and Limdo included. Slowly the crowd started to thin and Takiko managed to push her way forward.

The paper read:

**Main Supporting Characters:**

Mary: Elise Walt

Jacob: Hector Armstrong

Eric's Father: James Darst

Arianna: Katie Montgomery

Please go to the main office on the Friday after Christmas to pick up your scripts. Rehearsals will begin the first week in January. All those not listed here will be called if they have received a part.

As Takiko read through this she broke out into a cold sweat; she hadn't made it into the any of the main supporting roles. That meant that they probably stuck her in the extras. She sighed and started to turn away when Limdo turned her back around, seemingly reading her mind.

"Look there," He said, pointing at the top of the paper.

Takiko turned around, confused. When she saw what he was pointing to she gasped, putting her hands over her mouth in surprise.

**Leads:**

**Alice: Takiko Okuda**

**Eric: Limdo**

**Congratulations; please go to the main office on the Friday after Christmas to pick up your scripts. Rehearsals will begin the first week in January.**

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

**Hi everybody! You are reading another exciting chapter of Reborn, brought to you by your fabulous writer Ari! So far we have pretty much established that Takiko has no idea of who Limdo is. GASP I'm shocked, aren't you? So next time I think I'll post the entire story of the musical they are in, I'm to lazy to do it now. So that's it, the song is by Richard Marx and Donna Lewis.**

**Thanks For Reading,  
Ari **

**I do not own Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden, or the song At The Beginning. Or really anything else for that matter, too bad...**

**p.s. Don't forget to review, that means you Sango/Alice! **


	7. Chapter 6

Takiko sat with her hands neatly folded in her lap, the polka-dot baby doll dress she was wearing just barely reaching her knees when she sat down. Her polite expression showed no expression as the reporter introduced himself and set up his equipment. Finally he sat down, a little tape recorder in his hand.

"So Miss. Okuda, I'd first like to congratulate you on getting the lead in that new musical." Takiko smiled and said thank you, then the reporter continued. "I'd like to start with a few questions, first I'd like to know where you grew up, and what your life as a child was like."

"I grew up in Tokyo, my father, being the vice president of a major electronics company, had to live near the headquarters of his company so we had to live in a small apartment in Tokyo. My mother also had a busy life as the owner of a renowned salon, so you can imagine that I did not get to see them much. I of course had friends at the daycare I was sent to, and as I grew older I enjoyed my school life." The reporter scribbled some things done on his notepad then looked at his papers and asked another question.

"So, when did you start to get into modeling, were you in any clubs like that as a child? What inspired you to come to the U.S.?"

"Well as I said, my mother was the owner of a salon. Having a professional teach you how to apply makeup and do your hair certainly helped me a lot. I really wasn't in any clubs, I liked tennis and played that a lot, but other than that no. I made the decision to come to the U.S. after I had decided that I wanted to pursue a career in acting. It was actually complete luck that I ended up becoming a model."

The reporter seemed somewhat shocked by her bluntness and decided to change the subject.

"So, do you have a boyfriend Miss Okuda?" Takiko was taken by surprise when they asked this and quickly turned a deep shade of red.

"Not at the moment," She managed to get, "But with between my job and school I really don't have time for anything like that."

The reporter looked disappointed and scribbled down a lot of stuff on his notepad, without looking up he continued, "What do you hope to do in the future?"

"Well, right now I'm working on the new musical Masterpiece; I will be playing the lead of Alice. After that I hope to continue with acting, but of course keeping up with modeling between shows. As for after that, I'm not sure, I'll just go were my life takes me. Actually, I do hope to go to college, though I'm not sure how that will fit in with what I'm doing now."

"You said that your parents weren't around much when you were a child, what about other family members?"

"I have lots on my mother's side, but they all live in Hokkaido so it would be too difficult for them to look after me. On my father's side I don't have any relatives, except for distant ones related to my grandmother, but she died when I was very young. My grandfather on my father's side disappeared shortly after my father was born. "

After that the questions were all routine, favorite music, books, how she liked New York so far. It all went by rather fast at that point, the photo shoot was very short, so she managed enough time to go grocery shopping.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Takiko bustled through the doors of her apartment building, arms laden with heavy grocery bags. She hadn't anticipated on buying this much stuff, the sandwiches and pastries had just looked so delicious. Now she weighed about three times as much as normal and it was taking a great amount of effort to just walk across the lobby of the building. When she finally made it to the elevators she relaxed a bit.

As she stood there she suddenly felt some of the weight lift off her right arm. This time Takiko was not at all surprised to see the happy face (which Takiko thought was slightly freakish since no one could be happy _all_ the time) of Limdo looking down at her.

I wonder how he keeps showing up in all the same places as me, Takiko thought, maybe he's stalking me? Note to self: Get bodyguard.

"You seem to have a lot of stuff here, would you mind if I helped you carry these back to your apartment?" Before Takiko could object he took more bags and stepped into the elevator with her. Once inside Takiko moved as faraway from him as she could, the awkward atmosphere only increasing with every floor.

When they reached the top floor Takiko pulled out the key and faced Limdo, "You can give those to me now." But as soon as the words left her mouth he was already opening the door with the key that had been in her hand. "Fine, just go in. It's not like people normally wait for an invitation before they go into someone's apartment."

Takiko followed behind Limdo and placed her bags on the kitchen counter, when she turned around she found Limdo staring blankly at her living room.

"What's wrong?" She asked, taking the bags from him.

"It's just… This place is so cold."Takiko glanced at the thermostat and saw that it was a comfortable seventy-six degrees.

"If it's that cold for you I can turn up the thermostat." Limdo turned around, a thoughtful look on his face.

"I didn't mean the temperature, I meant the feeling. This place is all metal and tile, black and white. It doesn't feel like a home."

"Well excuse me for going with a modern style."

"It's just that…" His voice trailed off and he once again looked at her with those eyes. The eyes that seemed to look into Takiko's soul.

"It's just what?"

"I'm sorry; I thought you were someone I used to know. I guess I was wrong." With that he turned around and left.

"Fine, that's what I've been trying to tell you all along." Takiko walked in a huff back to the counter and started putting her groceries away. When she turned to open the shiny metal door of the refrigerator she saw her reflection.

She was crying.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

**Ello! So once again this is a short chapter, I actually wanted to make it longer but a certain person made me finish before I wanted to . That's ok though since I think I ended it at a good spot. An interesting thing: When Limdo says her apartment is cold it really shows (what I think at least is) the feeling of the story at this point. The weather is cold, the rooms are cold, even the feelings are cold. When I write this I listen to the song Avril 14th by Aphex Twin, it really shows the mood of everything I think :)**

**  
See Ya Next Chapter!  
Ari**

**p.s. Thanks for reviewing! **


	8. Chapter 7

Takiko brushed away her tears furiously; she had no idea where they had come from since she obviously did not feel the least the bit sad that Limdo had left; in fact she was quite happy that he finally realized his mistake. The only problem though was that they would have to co-star together soon, and she could only image how awkward _that_ was going to be.

Takiko sat down and started shoving her chicken soup into her mouth, not caring if it got on her new D&G dress. As soon as she was done she cleaned her bowl and set it in the dish washer, then went into her room to change clothes. Going for comfort over couture, Takiko slipped into a pair of dark stretch Levis, along with a long sleeved under shirt that she pulled a white t-shirt with black logo over. After grabbing a light pink shawl she headed out the door to the only place she knew would clear her head. Plus her lonely apartment was creeping her out after what Limdo had said about it.

After a few tries Takiko finally managed to pop open the door to the roof of her apartment building. In the spring this place was a full of flowers that made up a rainbow of colors, now it was empty, black, and cold. Takiko walked to the edge of the building and looked out at the city around her. There were so many events that had occurred the past few days, she couldn't name a single time over the past two years when something this interesting had happened. To Takiko's horror it slowly dawned on her that she had kind of liked having Limdo around. It had distracted her from the routines of her normal life and had given her something to think about other than what clothes she was going to wear the next day. She was going to miss that smile that was so often strained and fake, but a smile nonetheless.

As Takiko stood there, a wind tugging at her shawl, snowflakes started to float gently around her, creating a sereneness that is so often lost in the hustle and bustle bellow. Sighing a little at the complex thoughts buzzing through her head Takiko sat down and pulled her legs up to her and enjoyed the moment, her head resting on her knees.

A few minutes later Takiko hears someone's shoes crunching through the freshly fallen snow; keeping her eyes closed she's pretty sure she knew who it was. The person came up and sat down next to her. A smile crept over her face, waiting for him to apologize for what he had said. Instead an unfamiliar voice said:

"Are you all right?" Takiko didn't open her eyes, enjoying the sound of his the voice. It was a nice tenor rumble that only added to the calm instead of unsettling it. Apparently noticing that she had no intention of replying he took off his heavy leather jacket on put it on her.

"It's pretty cold for someone to be out here without a proper coat on." He stated matter-of -factly.

"Well I just needed a place to clear my head." Takiko replied, without lifting her head up.

"This would be the place to come then," She felt him adjust his sitting position and brush some snow out of his hair that fell onto her. He notices this and starts to apologize.

"No, no, that's quite all right. I'm already partly covered in it anyway." Takiko smiled and lifted her head up to look at this nice stranger.

Oh no, it's happening again, Takiko thought as she winced and put her head back down onto her knees. This time she was ready when the image flashed into her vision and the noise of the city drifted away. This time it was a man with short black hair, he was wearing a strange hat and coat with a quiver of arrows on his back…

"Are you all right, is something wrong with your head?!"

Takiko was snapped back into reality by the desperate cries of the man sitting next to her, she looked up to assure him that everything was all right.

With a gasp she realized that the man sitting next to her was the same one she had seen in her vision a second ago. Only with more sensible clothing.

"I'm fine," Takiko said quickly and got up. The young man got up too and started brushing some of the snow off her hair. Takiko looked him up and down then finally said "Do I know you from anywhere, have we met at all before?"

The young man looked at her with a hopeful expression, only to be cut off by someone yelling "Tomite!" from the door to the roof.

"I'm sorry but I have to go," He said, and started to rush hurriedly towards the door.

"I'm Takiko by the way," She called after him.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

"Limdo what is you problem?!" Tomite banged his fist against the wall in frustration. "She obviously is the same Takiko! She remembers me, she said so herself!" Well not in those exact words, he thought, but Limdo didn't know that.

"Well if she remembers you how come she doesn't remember me? She would definitely remember me before she remembers you!" Limdo was back to his usual yelly, frowny self, all traces of smiles gone.

Tomite stood there, this was exactly the question he had been running over and over in his head. According to all the reports that Limdo had given him on what Takiko had said during there brief moments of interaction it was clear that she hadn't shown any signs of remembering him. Then something hit him.

"Limdo, has Takiko seemed to have any bad headaches when she was with you?"

"Um…" Limdo racked his brain of all the things that had happened over the past few days, finally remembering something that had happened during the audition for the musical yesterday. "Now that you mention it, she did have one the other day."

"Just before she remembered me there was something wrong with Takiko's head, right after that she knew me. I think she might have done the same thing with you, only she didn't make the connection then. I think you just need to spend a little more time with her." Tomite walked over to the counter and picked up a plate of the lasagna.

"Spend more time with her?! I try to but she always tries to avoid me, and when we finally do talk it's like she's not even listening!"

"Boys, boys, I think I have a plan that might solve your little problem." The petite girl walked into the kitchen, her black ringlets falling around her face.

Limdo and Tomite turned to face her as she picked up her own plate and sat down at the table, the many layers of her black dress moving as she crossed her legs.

"What idea would that be, Crin?" Limdo had calmed down about and pulled up a chair too.

"Let's just say Christmas is better spent with company."

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

The next day Takiko finally caught up on some much needed sleep. It was Christmas Eve and her manager had given her the day off to do whatever she wanted. Of course Takiko had already bought all of the presents she was sending to relatives and friends so she didn't need to do any last minute shopping. When she finally opened her eyes and flung aside her comforter it was past twelve and a weak light was filtering through her blinds.

Takiko put some sweat pants on with her tank top and popped a piece of toast in her mouth before crawling onto her couch and watching the news. After a little while she grabbed her laptop and started e-mailing her friends back in Japan, telling them that she hoped they liked their gifts and other things like that. She knew that she would have to wait another few hours to call her parents since it was one in the morning there but that was alright. Takiko settled down for a lonely day filled with reruns of Scrubs.

A few hours later Takiko heard a knock at the door. She thrust aside her blanket and padded her way to the door, and upon opening it she found a small brown box addressed to her. She looked around outside for the guy who had delivered it and went back into her apartment. The return address was from L.A. and Takiko knew only one person who lived in L.A. Inside there was a nice little letter from her old neighbor Mary all about how she was settling into life there, she also asked how Takiko was doing and gaze her address to send letters to.

After further inspection and many packing peanuts Takiko came to two boxes wrapped neatly in Christmas wrapping paper. Each had a label on them that said do not open till Christmas. Having no Christmas tree to put them under Takiko placed them on the coffee table. She sat there admiring them with their neat packaging and careful labels, the distant voice of Zach Braff in the background, and it dawned on her that she was going to be completely alone on both Christmas Eve and Christmas. How completely and utterly depressing.

Oh well, at least she'll always have Zach to cheer her up…

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

**Hallo, how are you doing today? Once again Ari has spent a long night writing since apparently she is too lazy to write during the day. But that's all right, it's summer and a weekend so i can sleep in tomorrow. Sorry it took so long for me to post this, I've had a lot going on lately and just haven't sat down and felt like writing. I thought you'd much rather have a semi decent piece of work then a barely passable for the English language chapter. So that's it for now, the next chapter will probably come around Monday or Tuesday. And I just realized I still haven't posted the summary of the musical they are going to be in, that will be done when they get the scripts in later chapters. One more thing, some of you amazing Genbu fans will be wondering who this Crin character is. Don't fret! You have not missed anything in your reading and rereading of all the chapters you can get your hands on, she is a character from a Fanfic that my friend Sango/Alice writes. Some of you might be familiar with it: You Know You've Gone Insane When. Other than her I will not be adding any other random main characters anytime soon. Also, this is a Takiko Limdo pairing and Tomite is just being nice, i have to address this since my friend spazzed out on me when she thought that I might be pairing Takiko with Tomite. Don't forget to review!  
**

**  
That's all For Now  
Ari  
**

**I do not own Fushigi Yugi or Scrubs or any other thing in this that I might get sued for.  
**


	9. Chapter 8

Takiko woke with a start; she tried to sit up only to find that half of her body was in the air. This caused her to fall and hit her head quite painfully on the coffee table and be smothered by the blanket she had thrown on her self.

With out realizing it Takiko had fallen asleep on the couch. The tv was still blaring out old episodes of scrubs, and Takiko was still in her jeans and T-shirt. That wasn't what had woken her up though, the doorbell was going off. This was probably the third or fourth time the person had wrung it since the space between each new buzz was getting shorter.

"Coming!" Takiko called out as she picked herself up and straightened out her shirt.

Now the buzzes weren't even distinguishable form one another, there was just one long noise. She rushed to the door and pulled it open. Standing in front of her were three people, two of them she recognized.

"Um…"Takiko wasn't sure what to say as Limdo, the boy she had seen last night, and a short dark haired girl stood in front of her door. It seemed the girl had been the one ringing the doorbell since as soon as she saw Takiko she had stepped away from it. "Merry Christmas?"

The girl stepped up to her as Limdo scowled at the wall and the other guy looked at his feet. "Hi, my name's Crin. I was wondering- if there isn't anything else you're doing-if you would like to come over for Christmas dinner?"

"Um…"

"Good, then we'll see you at five?"

"Uh, sure, hold on. Where do you live?"

"Right next door" The girl-Crin- pointed at Limdo's apartment.

"Wait, what?"

"Limdo, Tomite, and I share an apartment. It's cheaper than getting one for each of us."

"Oh…" Takiko still didn't get, but it was probably best to just smile and nod.

"So we'll see you at five then. Oh, and be sure to wear something nice."

"Sure…" Takiko watched them walk off, back to their apartment. They seemed to be discussing something, but they were already out of earshot. Takiko shrugged and closed her apartment door.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

A wave of heat rose out of the oven as Takiko took out the pie and the cheese grits she had made. It had been short notice but after some scrounging through the pantry Takiko had managed to find all the ingredients. She glanced down at her watch; fifteen till, and put the food out to cool.

Takiko hurried to her room and thrust open her closet, as she searched designer dresses went flying. Finally deciding on three she placed them on her bed; it was either going to be a Michael Kors, a Blumarine, or an Armani. Deciding that one could never go wrong with Armani Takiko slipped the cool black material over her head and after adjusting the spaghetti straps she started applying various makeup products to her features. The dress was one that hugged her curves and made of satin with a lace overlay. It had a black belt running the waist with a bow in the front; there was a slit in the back that allowed her to walk easily. She strode out of her room and grabbed the bottles of sparkling cider, sitting on the counter then put the pie and cheese grits on a platter to make them easier to carry. After looking at her watch she saw it was five so she made her way to Limdo's apartment.

She stood in front of the door, not sure what to do, there seemed to be a commotion going on inside. There were loud bangs and undistinguishable yells, when Takiko finally got the courage to knock it all went quiet. After a few seconds the door opened, a smiling Crin standing at it.

"Hi, come on in." Crin tugged at the bottles tucked under Takiko's arm and led her into the living room of the apartment. It was nicely decorated, bright yellow with paintings of sunflowers. The kitchen was painted a green color that complemented the living room with Tuscan looking dishes and appliances.

"Where can I put these?" Takiko looked around and saw food layed out on the large wooden table. She walked over and put her tray down there, next to a big ham and some rolls.

"Let me get those for you." Crin took the bottles of sparkling cider form her and put them on the counter where she proceeded to open one and fill glasses with cider.

Ass Takiko looked around she noticed Limdo and the other guy sitting on the couch. The were both scowling and looking at their feet, when she walked over to them they seemed not to notice. She finally stuck her head into their view.

"Turn that frown upside down." The both yelled and almost fell over, leaving Takiko giggling and accepting a glass from Crin.

"Well I see you've gotten those two out of their trance. Now we can have dinner!" Crin had arranged the food and plates on the table, she steered Takiko toward a seat and sat Limdo down next to her.

Everyone seemed very subdued, so the dinner was rather uneventful. Crin told her about them being childhood friends in China, and that the guy she had met on the roofs name was Tomite. They had all decided that they would make it big in the United States and had studied hard all through middle school and the last two years of high school to be able to make the exchange program.

"So we'll be starting school once break is over." Crin shoveled a piece of pie onto her plate and Takiko did the same.

"So… How do you guys work out sleeping arrangements here?" Takiko glanced over her shoulder at the one bedroom and bathroom in the place.

"Oh that. Well of course they boys make the girl take the couch. Let me tell you, these two are real gentlemen." Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she stood up and started taking all the plates. Takiko got up to do the same but Crin insisted that she was a guest and therefore shouldn't do the dishes.

Takiko stood there and tugged at her skirt, uncomfortable, Tomite continued to eat but Limdo had barely touched his food.

"Well, it's pretty late and you seem to have everything under control. I'll be heading home now." Takiko started walking to the door, but not before Limdo got up from his chair. As she walked past him a cold feeling shot up her spine, similar to the first time she had seen him.

"Thanks for coming; I'll return your dishes later if you don't mind?"

"That's okay, thanks for inviting me."

"Well see you later then. Oh, Limdo will walk you home" Crin motioned towards him with a soapy hand.

"That's okay, I live right next door." Takiko hurriedly dismissed it.

"No really, I insist." This time it was Limdo who spoke. Takiko instantly shut up, knowing that hard edged tone in his voice.

He walked her there in silence, staring straight ahead. The minutes it took seemed like hours and when they finally reached the door Takiko had to keep her self from sighing with relief.

"Well, thanks for walking me home, Merry Christmas." Takiko turned from him to her door, only to run into his arm. She turned the other way and saw that she was trapped between his arms. She looked up into his stern eyes, as he opened his mouth.

"We need to talk."

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

**So this chapter was kinda lame. Nothing really happened, it was really just a filler. Oh well, at least the next one will be exciting! at least I think so...**

**  
That's all I have to say  
Ari**

**I do not own Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden thoough i wish i did. You know what they say: If wishes were fishes then we'd have an awful lot of fishes. **


	10. Chapter 9

Takiko set down the pot of boiling water, letting the hot steam enter her lungs and warm her a bit. She took out the tea packets and started to pour the water into a cup.

"Would you like some green tea?" She called over her shoulder to Limdo. He was looking at the pictures of her family on the coffee table. Most were color but a few were black and white, things her mother had let her bring to America to remind her of home.

"Sure." Limdo put down a picture of her grandmother and instead turned his attention to a picture of a happy child with rosy cheeks, Takiko as a young girl.

After pouring a second cup of tea Takiko sat down in the chair opposite Limdo. She quietly sipped her tea and waited for him to begin talking. It was a long wait. She finally decided to break the silence.

"You said you wanted to talk?" She shifted her legs into a more comfortable position as he turned to face her.

"That's right, we do need to talk." He picked up his tea and took a sip. Takiko wanted to scream with impatience but she kept her composure. "I know I acted a little strange these past couple of days, and I'd like to apologize. It's just that you look very familiar, like someone I used to know. I thought at first you might be her, you had just forgotten me, and that upset me quite a bit. So I tried to get you to talk to me, I went out of my way to spend as much time with you as I could." His eyes were intense, focusing on her face. She blushed and looked away. He continued on. "No matter how hard I tried you couldn't seem to remember me at all, and that frustrated me. It frustrated me so much that when I meant to be nice and helpful I was harsh and rude. And for that I apologize."

Takiko looked up, hearing the sincerity in his voice. She knew that it was probably hard for him to apologize. She felt like she shouldn't pry but she just had to ask…

"Who was the girl, the one that looks like me? Was she important to you?" Limdo grimaced and Takiko instantly realized she said something that she shouldn't have said. "Wait, you don't have to answer that, I'm sorry I brought it up."

"No, no. That's okay; you have a right to know. She was my…" He trailed off, seemingly at a loss for the right word. "Well I guess you could call her my girlfriend, though that doesn't seem to be the right term. We were very close but…" A pained look crossed his face and he seemed to be looking at something Takiko couldn't see. "We were abruptly separated, I haven't seen her since. So you can see why I was so eager to talk to you, you look and sound exactly like her."

Takiko was at a loss for words, so instead of replying she took a big gulp of steaming hot green tea. She instantly began to cough and sputter as the liquid seared her throat.

Fire, burning and hot raced toward her, coming along the same strange ropes that bound her. She struggled but couldn't break free, a little ways away she could here someone yelling. She looked into the eyes of the man that was going to kill her, eyes that were suddenly filled with shock as the ropes were cut and a deep slash ran from head to stomach on him.

Takiko fell to the ground, and looked up to see the same woman she had seen in her first vision, only this time she looked very familiar. Her mouth opened and formed the started to form the word…

"Limdo?" Takiko paused, confused. For a split second she felt like she was caught between both worlds, speaking to both people, then with a snap she was dragged back the present.

"'Limdo?!' ' LIMDO?!?' You pass out and all you have to say is 'LIMDO?!?'" Limdo stopped in his tracks and stared down at Takiko. Takiko didn't answer; instead she looked at his chest.

"You don't have boobs…" She patted his chest, and then looked up at him. "It's flat."

"I know." He seemed more amused than irritated now. Like there was some joke that only he knew the punch line to. Takiko was irritated; this was her least favorite look of his. Not only that but she was sure that the girl in her vision had been Limdo, they looked alike in everyway. Except of course that was a girl, and Limdo is a guy.

**KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK**

**Eheheh, sooooo i have a lot of apologizing to do. I have not posted in a very long time and for that i am REALLY sorry. When school started things got kinda hectic around here and then i got grounded (in fact i kinda had to sneak on late at night to post this) so i have been unable to write, or update, or do pretty much anything except sit in my room, which sucks... But anyway, so i meant to write more and this is reeeeeaaaally not where i wanted to end it so i thought i'd sacrifice length and all that good stuff for posting. Once again, many apologies, please don't kill me alice, and a fond farewell for now. Believe me, from here on out things will start to be picking up and there will be more chapters in less time.**

**Mata Ne!  
Ari**

** p.s. For the first year ever my school is offering japanese, i am so excited and happy to be in that class!!!! But right now i only know 25 hiragana, greetings, random things in the classroom, and how to tell time... Oh well, at least if i go to Japan i can tell you that that is a pencil and that it is 2:00!**


	11. FINALLY! Chapter 10

Limdo set Takiko down gently, her feet lightly brushing the floor as he swiped her legs down. It was an oddly reassuring feeling, being in his arms, she almost told him to stop and keep holding her. Then she remembered how intimate a contact it was and shut her mouth.

Once she was on the floor she looked around her, she hadn't noticed before but they were in front of her apartment, the door still hanging open. She pushed Limdo inside and looked around, embarrassed by what her neighbors might think of her in the arms of a strange man. Once they were safely inside she turned to him.

"What do you think you were doing?" She asked, she was still unnerved by her vision, the uncanny resemblance of Limdo to the girl she had seen, the fire that had almost killed her. She couldn't really confront him about it,_ I have these weird visions where I saw you, but it wasn't you, it was some girl that looked like you_. She might as well just be asking for him to send her to a psychiatrist. Instead she had said the first thing that came to mind.

"You passed out, apparently for no reason. I was taking you to the hospital." He looked her up and down; still concerned that she could drop again at any moment.

"People suddenly passing out is no reason to take them to the hospital."As the words came out her mouth Takiko realized how stupid she sounded.

Limdo's face contorted and Takiko thought he was about to yell at her. Instead he doubled over laughing.

"You may not be her, but you sure do act like her." Takiko scowled at this, she did not like being compared to some mysterious girl that she had never met.

"Well I'm glad I could offer you amusement. Now, I'd like to get some sleep so could you please leave?" Takiko knew she was being rude but she had other things to do that did not include him.

"Limdo ducked his head in farewell and walked toward the door. Takiko was surprised, he had offered no protests to her rather offhanded remark.

"Wait" She called after him. "Um…I appreciate your help today with the whole rushing to take me to the hospital, and I know it was hard for you to share your personal information with me on such a touchy subject." She blushed crimson and looked at the floor, "What I mean to say is…Thanks, for all your kindness. I hope we can work well together in the future." Takiko walked up to the him, her head angled up to look him in the face.

Limdo's face stretched into a warm smile. He reached up his hand tentatively and brushed her cheek lightly with his fingers. Before Takiko could react he was gone, out the door and down the hallway. She blinked a few times, cleared her head, and let a long breathe.

"I truly cannot figure that man out," She grinned, "But I do like a good challenge."

Takiko walked back to her room, turning lights off as she went. When she was in her room she reached back trying to get at the zipper of her dress.

"Why do they have to make it so hard to get these things off!" She twisted and turned trying to catch on to the little zipper. She faced her window, her back to her mirror, but before she turned to look in the mirror something caught her eye. "What the-" A large gust of frozen air hit her, she covered her face as particles of ice hit it, each like the sting of the needle on her bare skin.

The wind stopped just as suddenly as it had started. She walked to the window and reached down to pick up what lay on the ledge. A single red rose with a heart pendant wrapped around the stem. Takiko picked it up, careful of the thorns. The pendant looked like an antique and as she looked at it closely she saw a little latch on the side. Gently, she pried the locket open. One side was mirrored, the other had a slip of paper tucked into it.

Takiko took the paper out and set the locket and the rose down on her bed. Written on it in an elegant script were just a few words.

Memories are Precious, the Past Shapes the Future.

I Will Never Forget

Takiko ran to the window and looked out but there was nothing but snow.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

**Hisashiburi desu ne! It's finally here, the 10th chapter! HUZZAH! oh, don't complain, i know it's short, but guess what? I've already started the next one and since it's winter break i can actually write! I couldn't bring myself to attach more to this chapter, it was just such an elegant ending point to end it...Anyway! Heh heh, what do you think? Did you like it? Tell me if you did and tell me if you didn't, i just want feedback so REVIEW! Next chapter, the big three Ss: Scripts, Shrines, and School.**

**Happy New Year to All!  
**

**Ari **


	12. Chapter 11

A single black booted foot hit the ground, followed by a black stockinged leg and finally out of the cab came Takiko; she wrapped her Burberry trench tightly around her to ward off the chill in the air. All around her the city was busy with action; the theatre was only a few yards away from Times Sq. so tourists were constantly walking the streets. And, as always, the dull roar of the city never quieted.

It was an overcast winter day, grey skies threatening snow. Takiko walked up the side walk while around her steam rose out of vents from the subterranean depths and cast the whole scene with a slightly eerie quality.

Takiko paused at the entrance to the theatre and looked up at its ornate decoration, taking in the gargoyles that must have watched over who knows how many people over the years. So as she walked into the theatre she breathed a silent prayer to them that one day someone else would look up and remember that those gargoyles had seen her walk here.

Takiko pushed the rough black stage doors open and tumbled into a scene of chaos. All around her people were bustling back and forth with large pieces of equipment, what looked like props and pieces of a set, and stacks of papers with musical scores all over them. She dodged a rather large and angry looking guy who seemed to be on a mission that involved a large screw driver, several cans of paint, and a rubber chicken.

"Excuse me! I'm here to pick up my script!" Takiko shouted over the heads of the all the people in the crowded backstage area. A few shot glances in her direction but no one stopped to help her or tell her where she could get her script. So she stood there, not quite sure what to do with herself.

From overhead she heard something snap accompanied by a warning shout. Takiko looked up in time to see a heavy wooden beam come falling toward her at a rather frightening speed. She braced herself for the sickening pain of impact, firmly shutting her eyes.

She opened her eyes again with surprise; she had thought that she would have been hit by now. What she saw instead surprised her even more. In front of her was a giant pile of rocks and boulders that had taken the shape of a huge monster.

"The funerary statue's moving! How is that possible?" Takiko glanced over at the man who looked like her neighbor Tomite as he said it. She glanced around in confusion and fright. She was in the arms of the girl that looked like Limdo

"Funerary?" She called in confusion as the monster started to stagger closer toward them.

"They're grave keepers, carved to look like the dead. They're not supposed to walk around though!" Well the girl that looked like Limdo was right of course, stone wasn't supposed to move at all. She glanced over at the man that looked like Tomite as he dodged away from some of the stone people that came after him. Distracted she didn't notice the stone beast that was coming right after her and the Limdo girl. For the second time that day she closed her eyes tightly in fear.

This time when she opened them she found herself looking up into the eyes of Limdo. Regular, lacking a chest, Limdo.

"Are you sure you don't have a sister? " She asked fuzzily, her head seemed to be clouded over and she felt a painful area on the back of her skull.

"Yes I'm sure that I don't have a sister. I'm also sure that you have a tendency to get into dangerous situations." Limdo looked down at her sternly. Instead of looking him in the eyes she looked around her.

"Why do I always seem to wake up in your arms?" Takiko said wearily, but she blushed when she realized how that had sounded. From around them a laugh went up. It seemed that while she had been passed out all the workers had gathered around to see how she was. "Um…you can put me down now."

Limdo set her down gently. She looked around at the faces of the stagehands then demanded "Well, what do you want? Get back to work!" Her words lost all their authority though, because of the bright red blush that still covered her face.

"Miss Okuda! Miss Okuda! Oh thank heavens you're all right!" Takiko looked to her left as a woman she recognized from the auditions came rushing up.

"Alyssa, right? You're in charge of the music for the show." Takiko said as Limdo took a step forward to stand by her side.

"Yes, that's me!" Alyssa pushed her black framed glasses up her nose and adjusted the large stack of papers in her hand. "And this is for you!" She handed a large portion of the stack to Takiko. On the top were scrawled the words: Masterpiece, musical score and script.

"This entire thing is for me?" Takiko asked as Alyssa handed a similar stack to Limdo.

"Yup! All of it. It includes the script for the show and all the sheet music too. So we expect you to already know most of it when rehearsals start next week." Takiko's mouth dropped open. When she had wanted to start acting she knew that it involved memorizing lines and things. But memorizing all this in a week was just ridiculous!

"Well I hope you two have fun rehearsing together" Alyssa gave Takiko a little wink, "And I will see you two in a week. Bye!"

"Wait, what do you mean 'together'!?" Takiko yelled after the fleeting figure of the musical director. She shot a glance at Limdo who was trying desperately not to laugh at her. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing at all." His face was back to the perfect emotionless mask it usually was. Takiko started walking back towards the entrance, with Limdo following at her heels. She shot a quick side glance at him to see if he was laughing at her again, but his face was that flawless face still. It gave away no emotions yet looked somehow very sad. She was drawn into those eyes that seemed to contain a century of hurt…

"Taxi?" Limdo's voice drifted into Takiko's thoughts, cutting off what she knew was going to be another 'vision'. _This is getting ridiculous_, she thought as she nodded curtly to Limdo. He, once again, seemed oblivious to her obvious rudeness and flagged down a taxi for her.

Takiko slid into the taxi and told the driver where she was going. But before the driver could pull away Limdo opened the door on the other side and slid in as well.

"We're going to the same place aren't we?" Takiko nodded and looked straight ahead. It was disturbing to her that when he had slid in she had noticed how good he looked in his jeans. Not only that but now that he was so close she had an unnerving urge to snuggle. Snuggle! _What is wrong with me lately._ She asked herself as the taxi pulled away from the curb.

"So Takiko, what school do you attend?" The question caught Takiko off guard. She was expecting a silent ride.

"Oh, the Amelia School of the Arts. It's a private school for students who have professional jobs outside of school so you can miss class." Limdo nodded his head. Then turned away from her, looking out the window. He was very odd person this Limdo, one second he wants to get to know her and the next he acts distant.

After a few minutes the taxi pulled up to their apartment building. Takiko grabbed her bag and her libretto and stepped out of the taxi. But as she stepped her foot twisted when her heel landed in a crack in the sidewalk. Pain shot through her ankle as she let out a shriek. Limdo was at her side in an instant, carrying her up the stairs and into his apartment in what seemed like a split second.

"Put out your foot." Takiko did as she was told, biting her lip against the pain that was shooting through her ankle. Limdo moved his hands expertly, probing the bones to see if anything was fractured or broken.

"Is it broken?" Takiko managed to gasp out. She was breaking out in a cold sweat from the pain. This wasn't good, a model could _not_ afford to have a broken ankle.

"It's not broken….but I'm almost positive it's not just a sprain. I'd better get you to the hospital and have it x-rayed" He stood up and gently lifted her foot off his knee and set it on the floor. "Here let me help you up." He extended a hand towards her.

"I'm not so much of a cripple that I can't stand on my own," Takiko argued. She readied herself to stand; pushing up against the arms of the chair she was sitting in. "See? I'm fine." She took a hesitant forward, leaning her weight on the chair she had just gotten out of. But when she put a tiny bit of weight on her foot she was swamped by pain. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she was swamped in darkness.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

_Where am I?_ Takiko knew she was in her body, but instead of being aware of her surroundings she couldn't really feel anything. It felt like she was just looking out from her own eyes as if they were windows, and without having any control over body movement she felt like a prisoner.

Takiko looked around; or rather her body looked around. She just observed. There was a forest, overgrown it seemed. And…

_A boat…_

Not only was there a lake layed out before her but there was also a boat tied up on the shore. A picture passed into Takiko's head of a stern faced man facing her in a boat that was drifting down a river. The side of the river was lined with beautiful cherry trees in full bloom.

_I wonder who that man is? He looks like my grandfather…_Takiko's thought's were interrupted by the girl that looks like Limdo untying the boat and pushing it off into the water. Her body moved on its own, she couldn't help it. One second she was standing on the shore, the next she was sitting in the boat as girl Limdo pushed off.

"When'd you hop on?! Stop following me! I want to be alone!!"

_His voice!! _Takiko glanced down at Limdo's chest. No longer was it the curvy one that she had gotten used to seeing him with in her 'visions'. Now it was lean and muscular. This was no girl Limdo, this was full fledged GUY Limdo. _Holy Crap._

But that wasn't all, oh no. His clothes, which were in the same strange style that seemed to not fit in the modern era, were stained with blood. Lots of blood. Things were getting stranger by the minute.

"_**Life is brief, maiden, fall in love,**_

_**Before the crimson bloom,**_

_**Fades from your lips,"**_

Takiko started to sing a tune. Or rather, her body did. She had no say in this strange vision.

"Is that a song from your world?" Limdo asked. "It's pretty."

_My world? What does he mean my world? _If he meant the land where people didn't wear strange clothes and got all bloody then yes, she was from a different world.

"Oh, it's called 'The Song of the Gondola'. The boat reminded me of it. I didn't mean anything by it!!" This strange version of herself seemed to have a tendency to not have grip on her emotions. It was obvious she liked Limdo…

_Okay this is getting too weird. I'm analyzing my own emotions for a guy I know I don't like. And all this isn't real anyway way…Isn't it?_

"I want to hear more." Limdo looked thoughtful, "Sing it for me." Takiko blushed. He was rather handsome…

_**Life is brief, maiden, fall in love,**_

_**Before the crimson bloom,**_

_**Fades from your lips,**_

_**Before the tides of passion cool,**_

_**For there may be no tomorrow,**_

_**Life is brief, maiden, fall in love,**_

_**Take my hand to the gondola,**_

_**Press my burning cheek to your cheek, **_

_**For no one will come here,**_

_**Life is brief, maiden, fall in love,**_

_**Like the gondola drifting on the waves,**_

_**Place your tender hand on my shoulder,**_

_**For no one will see us here,**_

_**Life is brief, maiden, fall in love,**_

_**Before your raven tresses fade, **_

_**Before the flames in your heart flicker and die,**_

_**For today will not return.**_

Silence. It was the strangest thing, Takiko knew the song, as if she had sung it a long time ago. As this vision went on she had the strange sense of déjà vu, not just as if she was seeing it for the first time.

"That was nice. It's a good song." Limdo's voice broke the silence. Takiko looked up to meet his gaze. "Your voice is so gentle and soothing. It's very comforting, somehow." It was too much for a girl to handle. Takiko blushed beet red and dropped her eyes.

_He really is very handsome…_

He moved closer. Takiko gasped as he put his arms around her.

"Takiko…" His voice contained so much emotion…

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Takiko drifted back into darkness and it seemed she stayed there for a long time. When she finally reopened her eyes she had to blink against harsh fluorescent bulbs that hung overhead.

Takiko was in a hospital room, that much was clear. There was an IV attached to her arm and that beepy sound that you always hear on the tv shows. She also seemed to be hooked up to every machine they had available in the hospital. Not only was the hospital room crammed with monitors and machines there were also mountains of get well cards, flowers, candy, and teddy bears.

"You're awake!" Crin rushed to Takiko's side, dodging flowers and teddy bears as she did so. It seemed she had been sitting in a chair at the foot of Takiko's hospital bed.

"How long have I been here?" Takiko managed to say. Her mouth was dry and nasty from lack of teeth brushing.

"Three days if you count Friday. The doctors thought you had just passed out from the pain of the compound fracture but when you stayed like that they changed their assessment into a fully fledged coma. They weren't sure what caused it though." Crin's eyes seemed to pierce Takiko. They were a strange cloudy grey color.

"Hey…weren't your eyes green before?" Takiko asked. Crin just grinned at her. Before Takiko could ask what was so funny Limdo walked in the room.

"You." Takiko gasped as the vision came flooding back to her in an instant.

"Yes?" Limdo asked, confusion clouding his face.

"I don't know who you are or where you come from but I know you're not normal." Limdo's face filled with excitement.

"What do you mean not normal? Do you remember something? Takiko, do you remember?" He stepped closer to her.

_Remember…remember…remember…_

The words echoed through her head. Whispered and mysterious, but at the same time deafening. It filled her head, pounding the sides until the pain made her scream.

"What did you do to her?!" Crin yelled.

"I don't know! Do something!" Their voices drifted through her mind, bouncing and growing stronger. They started to add onto one another, bits and pieces of different conversations filling her head until she could take it no longer.

"STOP!!"

And it did, everything stopped. Takiko sat in her bed, sobbing from the pain and all the strange things that had been happening to her over the past days.

"Takiko, let me help." Limdo stretched out a hand to set on her shoulder.

"Don't touch, please don't touch me." Takiko choked out between sobs. "Just leave me alone. Everything was fine before you came. Why can't you just let everything go back to normal?" Takiko felt him lift his hand off her shoulder. She couldn't see what was happening because she was crying into her hands, but when she looked up she was alone in her hospital room.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

**ZOMG! CAN YOU BELEIVE IT?! I can't i really can't. But here it is! The next chapter! Wow, it's been almost a year and so much has hapenned since my last posting. Another year of high school has gone and a new has started. Already I'm being swamped in homework XP I"ve just started rehearsing for my third musical: Aunt Eller in Oklahoma. Babysat like crazy over the summer, I'm taking a trip to Europe next summer so i had to proccur enough funds to make the trip possible. Let's see...I can't think of anything else of real import...Oh, my manga collection is now up to 300. NEW TAMORA PIERCE BOOK!! And i went to the Breaking DAwn Midnight release party then read it at the beach when i went on vacation.**

**So yeah, life is pretty interesting. Pretty busy to what with voice lessons, figure skating, dance, and rehearsal for the musical. I've finally got back into the groove of writing though so i will start the next chapter. Whether or not i can finish it is in a higher powers hands cough alice cough This chapter took so long to post becuase a had a horrible case of writer's block and had no idea what i wanted to do with this story except for a few things but i wasn't sure how to tie it together.**

**So yeah, that's it for now.**

**ARI**


	13. Chapter 12

Takiko lay in her hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling above her. She chewed half heartedly on a chocolate sent by a fan of her modeling. All around her were more gifts sent by designers, fans, and people she had worked with over the past few years. She sighed and looked down at her bandaged ankle.

"You know that with that ankle you won't be able to participate in the upcoming fashion week." Nancy stepped into her hospital room, wearing her usual serious expression. "Honestly, who has ever heard of a model unable to walk in heels." Takiko swallowed the piece of chocolate and set the box aside.

"I told you, I wasn't walking. There was a crack in the sidewalk where I put my foot to get out of a taxi." Takiko pushed her hair behind her ears and folded her arms across her chest. This was going to be a very bad conversation that she didn't want to have right now.

"Takiko, you came to this country with little to no background in modeling. The agency signed you, even though they didn't want to, just because you are Asian and that is a trait a lot of designers and photographers are looking for because they think it is exotic. You are pretty, but you're short." Takiko had been right, this was a bad conversation she didn't want to have. She had heard all this before, from all the agencies who had rejected her. But somehow hearing it from someone she knew and respected hurt her even more. "I took you on despite my better judgment. I've built your name up, made you one of the most recognized models in the world at the moment. But that is only for the moment. To be a true top model, dare I say super model, you have to be at the top of your game all the time. With this injury, unless a miracle happens, you will have to work twice as hard to stay where you are. There will be no runway shows until it heals, but you better believe I will cram in as many photo shoots as humanly possible into your schedule for the next few weeks." Takiko opened her mouth to respond but Nancy cut her off.

"School or no school. I will hear not a word of protest. I've already got you scheduled for five shoots tomorrow so enjoy your last day of rest." She swept from the room rather imperiously and left Takiko alone with her chocolates. She reached for one of her favorites, coconut filled, when Nancy popped her head back in. "No more chocolates, you want to stay the size you are don't you?" Takiko slowly put the chocolate down but waited until she heard the last click of Nancy's heels fade down the hallway to pop the chocolate into her mouth.

She chewed slowly, letting the sweet coconut flavor fill her mouth. She let her thoughts roam, thinking of what had transpired the past two days.

_Limdo…_

_No! Bad brain! _Takiko thought. _I'm not safe being around him or even thinking about him. He makes things happen, bad things. Things like visions, and headaches that seem to make my head explode and my thoughts fill with indiscernible flashes of color and sound. He is dangerous, dangerous to my whole way of life. _

_And what was with that whole "do you remember" thing? He was talking like I have amnesia or something. Which just adds to the strangeness of my visions. What if they are real? What if there is something I'm supposed to remember…?_

_Ouch_

Another headache. She stopped thinking about things like past memories.

_That stuff is just ridiculous anyway. I remember everything that has happened to me since I was a child. Every painful, happy, and lonely memory. I know who I am, the question is do they know who I am?_

_Limdo had admitted to me on Christmas that he had had a girlfriend that could have been my twin. Maybe she had gone missing or something and he was looking for her. And when he found someone that resembled her he had latched on, thinking that I must be her. But I have to stop going into such crazy hypotheticals , they are going to get my nowhere._

_And the musical that I had somehow managed to snag the lead in. Limdo is playing the male lead. He is going to be my costar which means that there will have to be a lot of contact between the two of us. Contact that I'm not sure I necessarily want with him. In fact I know I don't want contact with him. But how can I manage that? I can't just say "Oops, sorry but I don't like my costar so I'm just gonna not be in this musical anymore." That's not how things work. _

_And he lives next door. Which means every time I enter or leave my apartment he could be there. I don't have a problem with Crin or Tomite, both of them seem like sweet people. Though I know there is something strange about them as well. I _know_ Crin's eyes were green the last time I saw her. Sure people's eyes can change color a little, but green to _grey_? _

_I need to do something, and soon. I can't let things get too out of hand. I have to tell Limdo to leave me alone for good._

As Takiko let her thoughts wander she drifted off to sleep. Her dreams were filled with a strange book and the people in it whom she had loved.

She wouldn't remember her dreams when she awoke the next morning.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

"Good, now move the hand a little higher. Perfect, give a bit more of a smile." Takiko moved and positioned her body into the perfect poses. The photographer flashed away, giving out instructions here and there but letting Takiko do her job. Not that Takiko needed too much direction, at this point she could model even in her sleep. The past four days she had done over eighteen photo shoots. That had to be some kind of record.

After another half hour the photographer called an end to the shoot. Takiko changed back into her clothes, she had to be helped because by now she was staggering with exhaustion. When she opened the door to the outside she realized how late it was, the sky dark, lights illuminating the streets and billboards. She pulled out her phone to check the time and was astounded to see it was one in the morning.

"Well, I guess you do deserve a break." Nancy said. Takiko was in a taxi on the way back to her apartment. Nancy had called to give her her schedule for tomorrow, this sudden break from work was a surprise. _It seems even Nancy has a heart._

"So if I'm not working what do I do?" Takiko looked down at her foot, her toes protruding out from a cast that reached halfway up her calf. An image flashed through her mind. She quickly looked away.

"Have you forgotten all about school? You were so adamant about attending earlier in the week, did you already forget? I've sent them a note explaining why you were out. Have fun and I'll see you on Saturday. " There was a note of sarcasm in her voice on the word 'fun'. Takiko shrugged it off and used her crutches to get up to her apartment. She walked through the hallway without glancing at the apartment next to hers.

Once inside she slipped out of her clothes, put on her pajamas and collapsed into bed.

As she lay there she thought. Something she had been avoiding over the past several days. The constant barrage of designers, makeup artists, and photographers had kept her mind away from thoughts she had been trying to avoid. _You're running away from your problems._ Takiko told the voice in the back of her head to shut it.

She cleared her mind and finally drifted off to sleep.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Takiko blinked her eyes against harsh morning light that flooded in through her window. She threw aside her blankets and walked toward the soft light streaming through her window. _How late is it? _She looked out her window at a city covered in white. Sometime between when she had fallen asleep and when she woke there had been a snowfall. The city was peaceful, it's sounds and actions blanketed and softened by the downy snow that now covered everything. Takiko smiled to herself as she pulled on the blue pleated skirt and white button down blouse with her school crest on it. Early snow meant a long winter, and winter was her favorite season.

Takiko hummed to herself as she walked around her room, her mood light and happy. She pulled open a drawer and found a matching scarf and hat for her navy blue skirt. The only thing left was to check the time to see if she could make breakfast or if she had to eat on the run.

9:55

"I am sooo late!!!" Takiko tried to run out the door but only managed to fall on her face when she tried to put too much weight on her injured ankle. She let out a frustrated sigh and resigned herself to the fact that since she was already so late another hour wouldn't hurt. Unfortunately, even though she wasn't going to rush too much to avoid further injury, she still wouldn't have time to eat.

Takiko stepped out of the cab, carefully maneuvering her crutches up onto the sidewalk. Her school was in the heart of Manhattan. It was built only two years ago, on top of an old apartment building that had been demolished. Since it was so new everything thing in it was state of the art, from the computers to the sound proof practice rooms. What made the school special though wasn't its ultra chic and futuristic design, but the students that attended it. The Amelia School of the Arts specialized in, you guessed it, the arts. Most of the students, if not all, were active members of the performing and visual arts community of New York. The music departments were world renowned for having trained some of the best musical prodigies over the last two years.

The lucky thing for Takiko was that there was a special absence policy regarding work. If you were an active talent with professional jobs your agency could call in your tardies or absences so you would be excused from school without any consequences. Of course, having a private tutor teaching you trigonometry while you are having makeup applied doesn't hurt either.

Takiko made her way into the large entrance of the school, which was open all the way to skylights on the roof and had a large fountain in the center. She hurried along the corridors to the nearest elevator. As the elevator slid up to the twenty-first floor she glanced down at the vintage Gucci watch on her wrist. 10:36. That meant her class was being taught physics.

(AN For core classes such as math, science, English, and history, there is only one classroom. When there is a subject change the teachers switch rooms, not the students. Each of the middle floors is a different grade level, 6-12, and all the other floors are devoted to a specific major, such as dance, art, modeling, and/or choir. The administrative offices are at ground level. Performance halls, along with extra large practice rooms for small recitals as well, are the top floors. The very top floor is the main performance hall.)

As she went down the empty halls on the junior level floor she glanced into some of the surrounding classrooms. She knew a lot of the kids here, recognized them from tv commercials or magazines. Some stared wistfully out the window, curiosity lighting their faces as Takiko passed. They knew who she was just like she knew who they were. And just like she knew that a pianist with a broken finger meant a horrible loss, other kids knew a model on crutches was a bad sign. She shrugged it off, they didn't actually care about if she was ok or not, they were just curious as to what would become of her.

_That's one bad thing about going to a private school with lots of very talented kids. They're all extremely snobby and full of themselves_. She thought, now making sure to look straight ahead and not into the other classrooms. She didn't really have any friends, most of the other kids stuck to people with their same area of expertise. The other models all thought that she was too short to be up to their level and hated her for all the success she had garnered of the past few years she had lived in New York. Takiko was also in theatre classes, a rare double major, but all those kids didn't take her seriously because she was also a model.

So Takiko half heartedly made her way to her classroom, knowing that it was going to be just another day of teachers trying to cram as much knowledge as they could into her brain.

"Sorry I'm late Mrs. Karowack, I got stuck in traffic on the way here." Takiko felt awkward standing in front of everyone. Even more so because there were a few stifled gasps at the site of her cast and crutches. She avoided looking at the other students in her class, particularly the other models.

"Takiko, I'm glad you're finally back. You have a lot of makeup work but we can discuss that after class. You're lucky that we only just started second period but you did miss your new history teacher, you'll have to meet him on Monday."

_A new history teacher?_ Takiko would have to ask about that later. Mr. Dawson was such a nice man, she wondered what had happened to make him leave his job. Her teacher went on, "We also had some new students arrive on Monday, I put one in your seat but we can move him somewhere else."

Takiko turned to look at the new students. There, smiling and waving in a desk close to the front of the room was Crin, while seated next to her, with a slightly more restrained, but still happy to see her, expression sat Tomite. Neither of them sat in her seat however. Which meant only one person could be sitting there.

Limdo glanced up from the text book he was reading to look at her. His expression was blank, giving away no emotions.

"Limdo could you please move to the desk next to Takiko?" Takiko felt a cold sweat coming on. She had been doing such a good job of not thinking about him over the past few days. Well, more like she hadn't had a chance to, what with all the photo shoots and then the collapsing in complete exhaustion at three in the morning.

"He doesn't have to move does he? He can just stay there and I'll sit…" Takiko searched desperately for an empty desk other than the one next to her seat. There was none.

"Now Takiko, our new student needs some help getting caught up. He will sit next to you and you will help him follow along." Takiko only nodded grimly as she disheartedly limped to her desk. Limdo had moved next to her, his body only inches away from hers.

Takiko tried to focus all through class, but she was so determined to keep her distance, and at the same time distracted by his very presence, her thoughts were obviously elsewhere. Not only that but she knew that things would be even worse tonight at rehearsal.

Takiko somehow managed to sit through the rest of physics and partly through Pre-cal when the bell for lunch rang. The junior B class had second lunch, this meant it was in the middles of their current class. As everyone started making their way to the cafeteria or pulling their desks together to chat (mostly the other models did this, they didn't like the greasy food that was served in the cafeteria so they brought their own healthy and well proportioned meals to eat while the talked.) Takiko slowly but surely went to her usual lunch time haunt. There was a private practice room on the second to last floor that opened up to a terrace. It was the perfect place to think with beautiful music floating in from the senior piano class the floor below.

Takiko sat at the piano, her fingers expertly picking out cords. The daughter of a rich parents she had been taught piano from a very early age. She wasn't as skillful as those who devoted themselves to the art but she could at least play some of her favorites songs that she knew by heart when she wanted to. One of her absolute favorites was Opus #18.

Her fingers traced the keys, almost caressing them as they passed beneath her fingertips. So entranced was she in her music that she didn't notice the quite figure standing next to her until she spoke.

"You play very well." Takiko startled, her beautiful music turned into a train wreck of jumbled notes.

"Crin, I would appreciate it if you could say something next time you come into a room." Takiko closed the piano, her heart beats finally starting to slow down.

"Where would be the fun in that? Really, seeing you jump a good three feet in the air was quite amusing." Takiko only sighed in response. "You know, a sigh is just a worry leaving the body, you sigh so much you must have a lot of worries."

Takiko looked Crin over. This mysterious girl had some sort of connection to Limdo, though it seemed she was more drawn to Tomite than Limdo. Maybe she knew something valuable.

"You're right, I do have a lot of worries. And your roommate isn't helping get rid of any of those worries. In fact he seems to be piling more on every day." Takiko had purposefully left the statement open, hoping for answer without actually having to ask any questions. Instead Crin just leaned against the piano looking at Takiko with a slightly amused expression, her matching blazer to her uniform was tied around her shoulder almost like a cape. Her eyes were back to the green color she had remembered them to be, she must have just imagined the color change earlier.

"If you want to ask me a question why don't you just ask?" Crin finally said after a long and awkward pause. "Or maybe I should just say, 'ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies.'" Her eyes turned a steely blue, it seemed Takiko hadn't imagined the color change.

"I think I'll try my luck. It's better to get a half truth among several lies than nothing at all." The air around them was thick with tension.

"Fire away then, I guarantee nothing." Crin smiled, she seemed to enjoy a battle of wits.

"Your eyes. I know they change color, how, why? And is it something to do with how Limdo managed to get me to my apartment in less than a second when I broke my ankle?" Takiko wasn't going to hold back, she wanted answers, she wanted them badly enough to provoke a girl who she had a feeling was very dangerous if angry.

Crin pointed to the eyes in question, "New technology, mood changing contacts. Each color means something different, kind of like a mood ring but way more advanced." _Ok_, Takiko thought, _way out there but you never know_. "And as for Limdo moving so fast, maybe _you_ were just moving really slow." The impish grin completely gave it way. Obvious lie. Onto the next mystery.

"You and Tomite, what are you to each other? You share an apartment with two men so you have to assume you have a relationship with one of them. Somehow I don't think it would be Limdo."

"You're right on the mark with that one. You really are much more observant than she was..." Takiko wanted to jump in but Crin continued before she could. "Tomite and I are engaged. We've been together since childhood and have had an unbroken bond since. I tolerate Limdo only because Tomite is his best friend. Personally he slightly annoys me, he's just so moody. You'd think the guy could at least spare one genuine smile every once in a while." Crin looked at Takiko sidelong, she knew what was coming next.

"Who is this other girl you all keep mentioning? Somehow I get the feeling you all expect me to be this person but I have no idea who she is!" This was it, the question that Takiko really needed an answer to. This time it was Crin's turn to let out a sigh.

"Takiko, there is only one thing I can say. The rest will come in due time. What I can tell you is this; everyone is different. Identical twins can be completely different people if raised in different situations. Thoughts and personality are determined by memories and events in a person's life. How does someone know not to touch a stove when it's hot? Because they accidently touched something very hot and know it's a bad feeling. Everything is based on past experiences. So no matter how much you look like her you can never truly be her without her memories." Takiko's mind flashed to the note she had received on Christmas that was tucked in the locket she now wore around her neck at all times. "So yes, we do expect you to be like her. But you're _not_ her and you never _will_ be without her memories."

Visions, or rather memories. New memories with people that looked a lot like Tomite and Limdo. Maybe there was some connection.

"But who was this mysterious girl? I don't understand." Taiko was finally getting somewhere, getting answers that seemed to hint at something more, something that had yet to be uncovered.

_BBBBBRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNNGGGG_

The lunch bell went off, cutting their conversation short. They both turned as the senior level piano class started into the room. Takiko and Crin quickly apologized for their presence and went back to the classroom, only a little late for the start of the new lecture.

The rest of the day passed with a final class of English. Everyone quickly packed up their belongings during the last five minutes of class so they could leave as soon as the bell rang. Takiko glanced over at Limdo. He was taking his time putting his things away. This was quite odd since she knew that he would have to hurry over to rehearsal just as she would have to.

His behavior had been odd all day. He avoided all physical contact. He never looked at her, never even glanced in her general direction. It was like he was the one avoiding her, not the other way around. _Well_, she thought, _he's just making my job easier. Let's see how he handles avoiding me at rehearsal._

"Takiko, you have a pass from the clinic to allow early release." Once again everyone stared at her, the teacher having pointed out her obvious impairment. The only pairs of eyes not looking at her were those of Limdo, Crin , and Tomite. Crin and Tomite had their heads together, whispering about something they didn't want everyone else to overhear. While Limdo just stared out the window, watching the cars pass below on the street.

"I'd best be going then, don't want to be late for rehearsal of the play I'm staring in." That ought to show them, those snobby models and actors who thought she could never make it. Even with a disability she could still be something. Now if only she could feel as confident as she sounded…

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

"Right, everyone seated? Ok, we're going to start at the beginning and work our way through. Don't worry about the songs right now. We'll run those with the music director and choreographer later." Takiko sat next to Limdo at the front of a room filled with chairs. All around them were various other cast members, all the leads sitting in the front while smaller roles sat behind them, still smaller roles such as the chorus sat in the back mostly just to observe what was going on. "You've all looked over the script I assume," Everyone nodded including Takiko who had spent all her free time reading and memorizing. "Good, we expect all of you to be off book in two weeks. Let's start the reading."

(AN: Basically I'm not gonna make you people read the entire script. Instead I'm going to paraphrase and give you the basic understanding of the story. As you've probably been able to gather from the musical's title, masterpiece, the plot line has to do with art. So here for you to read is the abbreviated version of Masterpiece:

There is a man named Eric, in his late twenties. An art school graduate he is trying to make it in New York as a painter. Lucky for him his art is well received, but soon after an award winning art show he hits a slump and can't seem to paint anything.

Hoping for inspiration he brings his easel and paints to Central Park. Walking around he is struck motionless by the sight of a woman, who looks to be around 26, sitting on a bench and looking out at the lake. Her clothes are worn, her skirt torn in places. Even so she appears elegant and regal.

He quickly sets up and begins to paint her, her beautiful silhouette illuminating the canvas with depth and color. He quickly forgets all the desperation of the past month, he has found his muse. He finishes painting her and goes up to ask her who she is. Upon his approach she startles and runs away.

He returns to the park every day after that, his thoughts filled with the image of the beautiful women he had seen there. A week passes, and while he is wandering the park he sees her again. This time instead of approaching her he follows her, hoping that if he finds out more about he can talk to her without her running away.

He follows her to a rundown building on a bad side of town. The building is filled with druggies and prostitutes. He's startled that she lives in such a rundown place. When she goes into her apartment he knocks on the door. At first she is frightened by the stranger at her door, then when he explains himself, says he is an artist and just wants to show her a painting he made of her. She calms slightly and lets him in the house.

He explains to her that he would be willing to pay her if she would model for him. She is suspicious but asks how much money. He tells her and she nods, her lips pursed but not willing to turn down such an opportunity.

The next day she goes to his studio, wearing a lovely sundress that has obviously seen better days. He tells her to sit, that they are just going to be doing a simple portrait today. She just nods and sits. He asks questions, where is she from? What does she do for a living? She doesn't answer, only sits. He purposefully takes a long time, so he is nowhere near completing the painting when it is time for her to leave. She leaves without a word, leaving him to ponder why she is so silent and guarded, all he really knows about her is that her name is Alice.

The next few days blend together, little by little she starts opening up. Each new bit of information is a triumph to him. It doesn't take long for him to realize he is in love with this strange woman. Overtime she starts opening up more and more to him, till finally they are able to have conversations.

He finds out that she was from a very wealthy family, but her father was an abusive alcoholic. She tried to tell people what he did to her but no one believed that such a man would do things like that. So as soon as she turned 18 she ran away from home. All the money she had was in a savings account but she used it all to pay for rent. So she had very little money for food. She tried to get jobs but no one would hire a girl with just a high school diploma. So she was stuck paying rent and bills and trying to pay for food. And because of what her father had done to her she didn't trust men, she also didn't trust people because no one had believed her.

He was shocked to find out this information, and tried to comfort her. Soon the painting is finished, and he tells her that he wants to start another of her. So she continues to come to his studio. Soon she starts finding excuses to some to see him even when he isn't going to paint her. She too is falling in love.

But when she comes to see him one rainy day she overhears a conversation he's having on the phone with his manager. He tells his manager that he's done painting her just for the show, that this is the last painting he is going to sell of her. To her it sounds like he was just using her, exploiting her to get out of his slump and then he'd throw her aside. Really he doesn't want to paint her for profit, he wants her, not paintings. But it's too late, he turns in time to see her running out of his apartment.

He chases her, they both run off stage. She reenters and sings the title song, masterpiece. Then suddenly there is a honk and crash. The lights go up again on her sitting alone in her apartment. He's not dead, just in a coma, but the doctors have no hope for him. There is a lawyer telling her that in his will he had written that everything would go to her. Almost as if he knew that this would happen.. She goes to his apartment to start to clean things out, in a back room, his home studio, she finds at least twenty sketches and paintings of her. Each one clearly painted tenderly with love.

His father comes into the room and tells her that he has woken up, but there is something wrong. He doesn't remember anything that has happened in the past few months. With this she says the final lines of the play.)

"Even if he doesn't remember me now, he will. The bond we share is too strong, to deep to ever be broken. What we have is a love that will last through eternity." Takiko said the last lines. All around her people were silent and staring. Finally, after a pause, someone started clapping, then another person. Soon the whole room was filled with clapping and cheering. Everyone was energized with excitement.

"Wow! Wasn't that something? I knew we were right to pick you two as the leads!" The director clapped Limdo on the back. He wasn't paying too much attention though, he had that strange far off look again. "Now, I'm going to hand things over to our music director Alyssa."

"Thanks Chris. Right now we're just going to run through two of the pieces. I'm going to need everyone except for Miss Okuda to go to the main practice room to run the Opening sequence. The assistant music director and choreographer will help you go through it and get a feel for it. Meanwhile Miss Okuda and I will be working on her solo. Thanks everyone, and let's work hard on making this a show no one will forget!" Everyone started getting up and moving to where they were supposed to be. Alyssa motioned for Takiko to follow her into one of the smaller rehearsal rooms.

As Takiko walked away from the group she looked behind her to where Limdo's figure was retreating into the rest of the crowd. All through the run through he hadn't looked at her, not even once. It was starting to creep her out. If he was trying to get her curious then it was sure working. Suddenly she wanted to talk to him, but she quickly brushed the thought out of her mind. She had to get away from him. They could be in a musical together but they didn't have to be close, he had proven that by the silent treatment today. She put all thoughts of Limdo aside for later pondering though, she would have to concentrate on singing for now.

"Have you had a chance to look at this song at all?" Alyssa asked her. Takiko pulled up a music stand next to where Alyssa was seated on the piano bench.

"Yeah, and I really like it. It has a different feel from most of the songs I've heard in musicals." Takiko looked over the they were talking about. She did like it, a lot. She just hoped that she would be able to sing it well, not just the messing around she had done at home with her piano.

"Well Broadway is changing. Musicals nowadays have more of a pop beat to them. Take In the Heights, it won a Tony for best musical and the central song pattern is rap." Takiko nodded, she had self studied the history of Broadway and made a point to listen to a lot of soundtracks to get a feel for a lot of different styles. "But it's best to not think about other things right now. Let's get some work done. What I want you to do is get into the feelings of the character and sing like you would as if you were performing this on stage, not just a rehearsal. Give it your all, because if you can't do it now how can we know if you can perform at that level when it comes down to it." Takiko nodded her head, this all made sense.

"I'm ready when you are." Alyssa nodded and started playing the opening chords.

**Too bad you knew me.  
When I wasn't ready.  
And I wasn't ready.  
Did I say, "Come and get me?"  
Too bad I held on.  
When you tried to tell me.  
This was wrong.  
Well is this wrong**

**And I am no masterpiece where innocence is painted green.  
And Isn't it strange to think that you created all of me?**

**Done by the hands of a broken artist.  
You painted black where my naked heart is.  
I finally know what wrong is.  
Now I finally know that you bleed for nothing.  
Carved like a stone with your hands still shaking.  
On display through a soul there still breaking.  
Aren't you proud you're the one that made me?  
Aren't you proud you're the one that made me?**

**You can't erase these.  
Lines you can't save me.  
You can't display me.  
Oh, oh, You know what dismay means.  
I can't even try to.  
Remember what I knew.  
Before I became your.  
Model to claim **

**no.**

**  
I am no masterpiece where innocence is painted green.  
Isn't it strange to think how you created all of me?  
Done by the hands of a broken artist.  
You painted black where my naked heart is.  
I finally know what wrong is.  
Now I finally know that you bleed for nothing.  
Carved like a stone with your hands still shaking.  
On display through a soul still breaking.**

**  
And I grew tired.  
You expired.  
You finished me.  
Now that I'm all that you planned.**

**Tell me what do you think?**

**Done by the hands of a broken artist.  
You painted black where my naked heart is.  
I finally know what wrong is.  
Now I finally know that you bleed for nothing.  
Carved like a stone with your hands still shaking.  
On display through a soul still breaking.  
Aren't you proud you're the one that made me?  
Aren't you proud you're the one that made me?**

**Too bad you knew me.  
When I wasn't ready.**

**I am no masterpiece at all.**

"Wow, we certainly were right in choosing you for this. that was a mazing." Takiko blushed at the compliment. "Now as perfect as that was there are always things to correct let's go over the tenth measure."

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

By the time Takiko had finished working everything through with Alyssa the rest of the cast had gone home. _Well at least I don't have to worry about running into_ him.

The ride home was short. The elevator ride to her apartment short as well. But when she actually got to her apartment time seemed to slow. The soft pluck of chords on a guitar drifted into her hearing. She turned her head to follow where the noise was coming from, and even though she knew what she was going, she was still surprised to find herself in front of Limdo's apartment.

Despite her better judgment, Takiko was curious. She knocked on the door of the apartment, no one answered. She looked to see if there was anyone else in the hall, then checked the door knob. It was unlocked.

Limdo's voice drifted through the open bedroom door. It seemed no one else was home but him. He sang quite well, Takiko was impressed. She edged closer, hoping to make out the words.

Suddenly he stopped playing. Takiko froze, panic rising in her chest. But Limdo started strumming again, a new song this time. She was close enough now to hear the words too.

**These walls have eyes  
Rows of photographs  
And faces like yours  
Who do we become  
Without knowing where  
We started from**

**It's true I'm missing you  
As I stand alone in your room**

**Everyday that will pass you by  
Every name that you won't recall  
Everything that you made by hand  
Everything that you know by heart**

**And I will try to connect  
All the pieces you left  
I will carry it on  
And won't let you forget  
And I'll remember the years  
When your mind was clear  
How the laughter and life  
Filled up this silent house**

**One room  
One double bed  
In the closet hangs  
Your favorite dress  
The books that you read  
Are in scattered piles  
Of paper shreds**

**Everything that you made by hand  
Everything that you know by heart**

**And I will try to connect  
All the pieces you left  
I will carry it on  
And won't let you forget  
And I'll remember the years  
When your mind was clear  
How the laughter and life  
Filled up this silent house  
Silent house**

**In the garden off the living room  
A chill fills the air  
And the lilies bloom**

**And I will try to connect  
All the pieces you left  
I will carry it on  
And won't let you forget  
And I'll remember the years  
When your mind was clear  
How the laughter and life  
Filled up this**

**And I will try to connect  
All the pieces you left  
I will carry it on  
And won't let you forget  
And I'll remember the years  
When your mind was clear  
How the laughter and life  
Filled up this silent house**

The song had so much emotion in it, so much longing.

Something stirred in Takiko, something she had never felt before. Her cheeks flaming she ran, despite the cast on her foot, and closed the door to her apartment firmly behind her.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

**ELLO EVERYONE!!!! So here it is, the longest chappy I've ever written? Are you impressed? WELL YOU SHOULD BE! Wow, the plot for Masterpiece is finally up! The entire play is an original musical by me. The song used is what inspired it, and though I did not write that song all other songs used in the musical will be written by me. This is getting exciting! I know it might not necessarily seem too terribly exciting to you, but since I know what's coming next I know it is going to be EPIC! So, my dear readers, stay tuned.**

**Love Always,**

**Ari**

**p.s. REVIEW!!!!**

**p.p.s. I own neither the song Masterpiece, Silent House, or Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden. If I did own these things I would be very rich and would not have to stay up late writing fanfictions, not that that's a bad thing.**


	14. Chapter 13

The weekend passed uneventfully. Nancy scheduled more photo shoots for Takiko to attend, Takiko spent her free hours rehearsing and memorizing for the show. Everything was as it had been in the previous months. Except…

She couldn't get her mind away from Limdo. No matter what she did her thoughts drifted back to him, his eyes, his nose, his mouth..especially his mouth. It seemed the more she hated him the more she thought about him, the more she thought about him the more she felt attracted to him. Which was something she couldn't explain. She had thought that those few twinges of desire, those casual glances at his obvious muscular physique, would go away after not having seen him for several days. But it seemed the old saying held true, 'absence makes the heart grow fonder.'

Not only that but it wasn't just physical attraction. There seemed to be an undeniable pull they had towards each other. He was the sun and her entire planet revolved around him. She wanted to be closer to him. That much was clear. His avoidance of her just made the pull all the more stronger.

What also became clear to Takiko over the seemingly endless weekend that, despite everything she had said, despite the things that he seemed to spark in her, there was something he sparked in her that wasn't a bad thing. It made her cheeks turn red and a smile to spread across her face when she thought about it.

"Ah, young love is such a beautiful thing." Nancy commented as she walked Takiko back to her apartment. They had gone shopping after a shoot and for once she was being nice and helping the poor crippled Takiko take her groceries up to her apartment.

"What do you mean young love? I'm not in love, nope not in love at all." Takiko shook her head, shaking the stupid grin off her face.

"What else could it be that would make you blush and look like a complete idiot as well as being a space case."

"I was just thinking of how lovely this food is going to taste once I cook it with the new recipe I have!" Nancy didn't buy it, and kept pestering Takiko until she left. "No, I'm not in love at all. Far from it..I HATE THAT MAN!" She yelled it almost to reassure herself of the fact. Which just made it clear that it was a lie.

Takiko turned out all the lights and lay in bed, looking up at the ceiling. The, only light illuminating the scene came in through her window. She unlatched the locket from her neck and looked at it. The beautiful heart that enclosed the piece of paper she had received on Christmas. Every time she thought about Limdo her hand went instinctively to it. Thinking about that night she opened her bedroom window and leaned out, looking right and left.

There was no way for anyone to put something on her window sill unless they could fly. Then again, he had gotten her to her apartment at an alarming speed. Maybe he had super powers or something…

"Takiko!" Takiko was startled by the sudden call of her name. She jumped and bumped her head on the top of the window sill and fell back into her room. She heard a far off crash and scrambled up to see what had happened. When she looked back out there was no one there, but below there was what looked to be several pieces of something strewn about the sidewalk.

"Strange, I thought…" But she decided to brush the thought from her head. It was absurd really, why would he call her name?

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

(Minutes earlier)

"What is your problem?" Crin yelled as she slammed open the door to the roof of the apartment building.

"Go away Crin." Limdo was perched at the edge of the roof, looking down at the city below. Crin paused, unsure of how to proceed. She turned and opened then closed the door to the roof. She then tiptoed on pockets of air so she would make no sound till she was right behind him.

"I'm not going away you fool!" Crin kicked Limdo in the back, making him falter slightly forward. He had to use his wind powers to keep himself from falling. "I had an interesting conversation with Takiko on Friday that I thought you would like to know about. Only you had to go disappear and be mister moody like usual. I seriously don't see why Tomite is friends with you…" Crin glared down from her perch on the railing that circled the roof at Limdo who was now hovering a little ways away.

"And I don't understand what _he_ sees in _you_. For being as small as you are your just freakishly strong." Limdo jump and landed lightly back on the roof, Crin turned just in time to catch his foot as it tried to collide with her stomach. She twisted it causing him to spin and jump back.

"At least I know what gender I am!" Crin realized she had said the wrong thing when Limdo sprang at her. She crossed her arms over her face to avoid his next kick, but when his foot connected with her arms he pushed against her arms. This time it was Crin who went flying over the railing. She mustered up what wind she could control and floated back up to the roof. Limdo glared at her, tense and ready for her return blow. "Look Limdo, I know how much fighting helps you relieve stress. And I know that you are _really_ stressed right now. But I didn't come here to fight with you." Limdo looked at her questioningly.

Instead of directly responding Crin walked over to a flower pot that was filled with soil. She ran her hand over the dirt, willing the small flower seeds that were laying dormant during the cold winter months to awaken. The green vines pushed through the soil, growing in two seconds as big as it would normally take them two months to grow. When the flowers had finally bloomed Crin plucked one and walked to where Limdo was standing.

"She loves you, she loves you not…" Crin plucked the petals one by one till there was one left. "She loves you…" Limdo face lit with an inner fire that Crin hadn't seen in awhile. Now all she had to do was drive the point home. He reached out to take the flower from her hand, but as soon as his fingers brushed the flower the flower withered, the stem becoming withered and black, the last petal fell. "But not if you don't start talking to her." Limdo glared up at Crin grabbing the stem and tossing it aside.

"We've been through this before Crin. How do you expect me to do anything if she just ignores me?" He clenched his fists, wishing there was something he could do to get Takiko back.

"She doesn't want to ignore you, she's just being stubborn. Give her time, she's much more perceptive than she used to be." Crin walked over to Limdo, her palms open and facing towards him, showing she meant no ill will. "And don't tell me that's not true. The Takiko we knew was naive to how the world works, caught up in trying to see the good in everyone. That wasn't a bad thing though, that's why you all loved her so much. This Takiko, I don't know…I can still see some of that there, but it's hidden. It's like she's given up hope. But if there is one person I know who can bring that old Takiko back, bring back not only who she was but her memories of then as well. It's you, Limdo, you're the only one. " Crin was now only feet away from Limdo, standing close to the edge of the roof. "But if you are too stubborn to talk to her the you will never get anywhere and be unhappy your entire life!"

Crin leapt at him, using the force of her jump to catapult herself into his chest. He wasn't expecting the sudden attack and fell over the edge, hitting an air conditioner someone had put in their window on the way down. He turned to see it fall down the side of the building toward someone's head that was sticking out of a window.

"Takiko!" He yelled, hoping to make her look up and realize the danger. Instead she pulled her head inside, just in time miss the air conditioner come crashing past her window. Satisfied she was safe he jumped back up the roof. "CRIN!" She was gone though, her giggles floating on the breeze.

_That girl is the most infuriating person I have ever met. But she does make a good point. What's wrong with me? I'm not the type to give up. Takiko said she would never forget me, but she has. So what will I do? I'll make her remember, and soon, before _they_ realize she's here._

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Monday, back at school. She was forced to sit aside while all the others models worked on their walks. Instead, the teacher had her sit in a corner and read a book on the history of modeling. Which really isn't all that interesting. Takiko flipped through it without really paying any attention to what was on the pages. She watched the others models move the bodies that best showed off the clothes they were wearing.

Takiko had to ask herself why. Why had she come to America? Why had she left behind all her friends, her home, her family, to fulfill a dream that everyone said that she was stupid to want to pursue. Well, when it came right down to it; she had been lonely. Her parents were never home, they were always busy doing something or other with work. They didn't love each other, it had been an arranged marriage. That left Takiko at home, with the nanny. A whole lot of love there. It did teach her to be independent. She was able to fend for herself, which made living alone in an apartment in New York not too much different from living alone in an apartment in Tokyo.

She had no home. Wall not in the , 'home is where the heart is' sense of the word. She had always felt like she didn't belong there. She long for the wide open spaces of rural Japan, not the pack crowded city. Which was odd considering she had moved to New York, one of the largest cities in the world. But when it came right down to it she had decided to move somewhere as far away from home as possible. Even if that meant moving to the coast of a whole different ocean.

She had no friends. Well no real friends. She had what you would call 'fair weather friends'. Her parents were wealthy, that made her wealthy. So therefore, everyone wanted a piece of her. To be able to say, "Oh yes, I am friends with that girl who gets driven to school in a limo." She had initially rejected these so called friends, but her parents had lectured her about threatening people with sharp objects. She didn't like people that thought they were special just because they had connections, in fact she detested them. And When she detested someone she made it clear to them that they were not welcome to talk to her or be by her.

So she moved. She went somewhere where no one knew her. Where she could get a fresh start and make a name for herself on her own. Without the help of her parents. _That_ was why she wanted to be an actress. And that was why she was suspicious of anyone who wanted to get close to her.

The bell rang, knocking her out of her daydreams.

She grabbed her bag and made her way to her classroom. _Oh, I should meet the new history teacher today! _Takiko thought. She had liked her old History teacher but apparently something had happened to the man's father so he had to take a leave of absence.

Takiko stepped into the classroom a bit late. IT was hard getting around the very large school with all its students when on crutches.

"I'm sorry for being late, the poor cripple that I am." Takiko smiled up at her new teacher, her smile vanished when her vision doubled.

On one side stood a man with shaggy black hair, he wore a sensible teaching outfit of black slacks and a well fitted green button down shirt. In his right hand he held a textbook. He looked as normal as normal could be, he even smiled at her. However, on the other side of her vision stood one of the most menacing figures she had ever seen. He wore a large black outfit and had hair that reached far down his back. Arrows were strapped to his back and there was a large sword in his right hand instead of a textbook. His scowling face was crossed by black bands. He was definitely _not_ normal.

"Ms. Okuda? Are you all right, you look as if you have seen a ghost." Takiko blinked several times. Her vision cleared and the figure in front of her now was the normal looking man with a pleasant smile on his face.

"I'm fine, thank you. I just think I need to sit down." He nodded and continued his lecture as she went to take her seat. Next to her Limdo tensed. He didn't glance at her, instead he stared warily at the new teacher. Takiko heart gave a little jump at the sight of him. She told it to get back to beating as usual, afraid that Limdo might somehow be able to hear how fast her blood rushed through her veins whenever he was near her.

Crin caught her eyes with a questioning look. "I'll tell you later." Takiko mouthed to her.

"Ms. Okuda, I would appreciate it if you would save your private conversations for after class." Takiko quickly apologized and started scribbling down notes.

"Ok class, please pull out some paper and start your essay on one of the topics I have written up on the board. If you are in fact as observant as I hope you all are you would have noticed upon your arrival to class and already started formulating your answers. If not, I wish you the best of luck, not really though you deserve what you get. You're forty minutes start…now." Ok, this teacher wasn't as nice as he looked. Beneath all the smiles he was actually pretty mean.

Takiko started busily scribbling words across her paper. Writing wasn't exactly her forte but when it came to making an argumentative essay using history she could make at least a ninety fairly easy.

Takiko finished writing and looked around. Limdo was still furiously trying to get his point across it seemed. It looked like he wasn't making too much progress from the scowl he wore. Takiko couldn't help it, she giggled. He was just so funny, all serious and trying so hard but obviously not getting anywhere.

"What is so funny Ms. Okuda? Does your essay topic amuse you so greatly?" She felt her teacher's eyes pierce her, a chill went through her body.

"Sorry sir. I'm finished writing. May I hand it on now?" People in the room shot her angry looks. She was always the first done with every test and essay, and she always got a good grade.

"Yes, I suppose." Takiko got up from her desk and went to place her essay in the completed assignment basket. "No Ms. Okuda, you will hand to me." That was a little odd, but who was she to argue with a teacher? She walked over to where her teacher was lounging against the board, legs casually crossed.

"Here you go sir." Takiko handed him her paper and turned to walk back to her desk.

"Not so fast Ms. Okuda." Takiko stopped and turned back to her teacher who was now reading over her paper. "Are you sure you wish to hand this in?" Takiko nodded, she had reread it twice to check for errors. "I see.."

The teacher read of the paper, making Takiko stand in front of the entire class. She could tell without looking that they had all stopped writing and were closely watching what was going on at the front of the classroom. Not only was he making her stand in front of everyone but he taking much longer than he should have to read the two page essay. Finally he spoke.

"Ms. Okuda, I have to say I am very disappointed. There is no clear thesis, you have failed to accurately support your case with decent evidence and the entire essay is just lacking in every regard." Takiko's jaw dropped. She could here a few snickers coming from behind her. _How can he say that? About my writing? I always get good grades on my writing! _"Well we'll just have to try to get you up to speed with the rest o the class. As for now, seeing as how you are the only one done, I need you to go to the administrative offices and pick up some papers I printed out this morning but forgot to bring up here. Go ahead and get busy." He smiled a horrible, malicious smile. It made her skin crawl.

"But sir, if you haven't noticed my leg is-"

"I'll go with her." Takiko turned to look at Limdo. _Wait, wasn't he ignoring me? _Limdo walked over to where Takiko and Hagus were standing. He stood in front of Hagus, their eyes locked. There seemed to be some sort of silent exchange going on between them. Finally the connection broke and He turned and smiled at Takiko. "I'll help you, I'm finished with my essay too so it shouldn't be a problem." Takiko glanced at the paper she had been watching him write. It was nowhere near finished.

"Are you sure? I mean, I can manage on my own somehow." Limdo just shook his head, a smile on his lips. He walked toward the door and stood standing it open for her. Takiko stepped after him, her crutches clicking against the tiles as they both walked down the hallway toward the elevator.

"Do you have your lines memorized for rehearsal tonight?" Limdo initiated conversation. It was light and Takiko could tell that he was holding back. For once she didn't want him to hold back, she wanted him to tell her everything. She wanted to know everything about him down to the smallest detail. And she wanted to tell him everything too. They walked together, the feel for once not tense. And Takiko couldn't help but feel…happy.

They reached the office, bouncing ideas about certain scenes off each other. Takiko smiled up at him, he smiled back. Her heart was racing. She stopped, wanting to tell him something, something that she was sure she was going to regret saying later. "Limdo…"

"Takiko…?" He stopped too, a startled look on his face. They stared into each other's eyes. Takiko started to feel light headed, her vision blurred.

Till someone loudly cleared their throat in front of us.

"Excuse me, but do you have some business in the office? Because I should think that this isn't the best place for you two to be all lovey dovey with each other." Takiko and Limdo both jumped apart. She looked over to see a blush grow on his face, there was one on her face as well.

"We came to pick up some paper's of Mr.…." Takiko paused unsure of what to say. She hadn't actually heard what his name was.

"Look Inami, Hagus left some papers down here and was trying to get on my nerves by sending Takiko down to get them with her leg in that condition. If we could just get the papers and get back to class?" Takiko balked at Limdo, he knew the teacher by his first name? And the office lady too? What was going on here?

"That is so like him, and even though I told him not to be too much of a bully. I guess it's just in his nature. He told me about those papers, let me go and get them." The office lady walked off, leaving Limdo and Takiko alone together.

"How do you know her?" Takiko asked, leaning up against the front desk. She was going to unravel the mystery that was Limdo piece by piece, and it didn't help that he kept piling on more mysteries as the days went on.

"Well when the three of us transferred here she was the main person to handle the paperwork and all that stuff. It doesn't take long for Tomite to make friends, meaning I get roped into the friendships too." Takiko judged this response. It seemed plausible, then again everything _seems_ plausible, you just have to look closer to find the real meaning.

"Here are those papers, and Limdo?" Limdo turned to look at Inami, "Try not to get into to trouble with Hagus, he is your superior and you know how he can get sometimes. And don't give me that look! You're just going to have to deal with him being in charge of you." Takiko looked up at Limdo's face, he had a sour expression, almost as if he had just swallowed a lemon. It was kind of funny.

"What are you laughing at?" Limdo asked as they start walking back to the classroom.

"You." Is all Takiko says in response. Maybe he wasn't so hard to be around.

"What do you mean me?!" Takiko just kept giggling and he finally smiled in return. It was in that modd that we walked back to class.

**KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK**

**Rejoice dear readers for it is a new chapter! I know what you all are thinking, "it's been over a month, what is your freaking problem?" Well, i have a perfectly good excuse. For you see, darling readers, I have started writing a book. Currently it is at 19 pages. Not too bad since i've been so busy with school, choir, dance, and voice lessons. Not to mention the musical i'm in at a theatre downtown, which opens in two weeks and i'm a lead. Wow, two weeks...crap i need to rehearse some more! But as you can tell, my life is extremely busy and my book will be taking up most of my attention. So to compensate and compromise i will be posting a new chapter of this fanfiction every month. the lengths may vary dependnig on how much time i have to write, and during the holidays i might post two chapters since i'll have free time. So every month check back for updates!**

**This brings me to my next exciting point, I finally know how this story is going to end! It took a lot of planning, and a lot of yelling at my computer screen, but finally there is a definite conclusion to this story. So stay tuned, it is going to be EPIC!**

**So Until Next Month,**

**Ari, out!**

**p.s. The airconditioner falling off the roof is based off a story my mom told me about her friend who was almost killed by a falling airconditoner in New York. So don't think that it can't hapenn cuz it can!**

**p.p.s. I swear, if you people don't review there will be severe consequences. Perhaps i might never post another chapter, EVER! I know you people read! i have magical tool called traffic on my user page that lets me see if epole are reading or not and i know you are! so REVIEW! I'm warning you.....**

**p.p.p.s. So for you have this story on alert, i apologize for the double email about this chapter being posted. There was a huge erroe in that I started writing in first person...eh heh heh...That's what i get for writing two stories at the same time.**


	15. Note and Spoof Script

So my dear readers, I know that I had promised an update every month. And now a month has come and gone and left you thinking: "What? There is no new chapter!" Well alas, I have been too wrapped up in my book to write fanfiction. Yes, I know that it is a dreadful thing! But wait! There was an amazing thing that happened thursday night, it was a sleepover between Alice and myself. A sleepover where a wonderful thing happened; A GENBU KAIDEN SPOOF VIDEO!!!! Yes, I know what you are thinking "It's about time!" It's what we all were thinking. So this video has now been posted on youtube for your enjoyment. The title is, of course, Genbu Kaiden spoof.

I'd just like to apologize for my horrible and acting job for Crin. I neither look like, nor do I sound like, Crin. So therefore do not take what you see here as how Crin is. Just saying...

Also, this is supposed to be a completely stupid and funny interpretation of the books. If you don't like it, or don't think it's funny, oh well. We had tons of fun shooting it!

Below you'll find the original script written by Alice and myself.

p.s. I have started writing the new chapter since I was inspired by doing this video. It will, hopefully, be up in the next week or so. Keep in mind that my father hates fanfiction and that I have just been cast in another show and will be busy with rehearsals for that as well.

Ari Out!

Characters;

Takiko; Alice

Crin; Ari

Limdo; Ari

Soren; Alice

Genbu; Ari

Script;

Crin; So…you and Limdo…you've…been together for a while…huh?

Takiko; well…yeah.

Crin; Do…you know, love him?

Takiko; …well, we are sort of ENGAGED!

Crin; oh…oh….yeah….that….well….how did you two meet?

Takiko; …well….

FLASHBACK!

Limdo; -big sigh- its pretty boring up here….being shackled up here…on a mountain….in the snow…HEY LOOK! Theres a snow flake…oh…its gone….oh boo….NOTAGAIN! Every time I make a friend, they leave me! Don't I have a friend whose supposed to save me every time I'm stupid enough to get into trouble? Hm…where did he go? Why isn't he helping me? These are the life questions I have learned to ponder….on my time here on this mountain. Oh hey…bright shinning light…odd…that only happens on Wednesdays…its Tuesday. Oh…random chick….hey chick…don't mind me…I'm just hanging here…oh…watch out for those demons…they give quite a bite…hm…maybe I should help this girl…nah….thats okay…oh…but she's kinda quite...and you know…being on this mountain has kind of worked my sense of girls…okay fine…WATCHA!

-unearthly shreaking-

Limdo; are you okay?

Takiko; -lying on the floor with wide eyes- oh…my savior!

Limdo; …uuuuuuuuuh…..no. I'm going to go over he…OMG! –passes out-

Takiko; ….crap.

-drags down the hallway-

IN TE BEDROOM!

Limdo; overly making sick noises

Takiko; …I think he's sick…what should I do….what would chuck noris do in this situation?

Limdo; FAAAAAAATHEEERRRRRR…..

Takiko; …hm. –gets into bed and wraps her arms around him-

Limdo; -wakes up seemingly completely fine- HEY! I DON'T ROLL THAT WAY! –pushes Takiko off the bed-

Takiko; AH!

End flashback

Crin; -gives Takiko an odd look- …and I thought I was strange….

Takiko; you really have no idea.

Crin; so…what was it like when you were called to be the priestess of Genbu?

Takiko;

…really weird, actually.

Flashback;

Takiko; I hate life…my mom is dead…my father is a lamo loser who loves a book more than me…AH!

Genbu; oooooh…..Takikoooooo!!!!

Takiko; -looks up with strange look-

Genbu; You….are my priestess!!!!

Takiko; …why must you say things in such a strange way?

Genbu; BECAUSE! NOW HERE! –Throws a book at her- TEAR UP YOUR FATHERS BoOK BUT AS YOU DO SO YOU SHALL GET SUCKED IN AND THEN SHALL BE MY PRIESTESS AFTER YOU MEET SOME STRANGE CHAINED UP WOMAN AND GETY ATTACKED BY DEMONS!

Takiko; …ok! Sounds good! Anything can be better than my angsty life...AH!

End flashback;

Crin; …that is weird.

Takiko; -nods- I know.

Crin; So…how did you accept your role as priestess officially?

Takiko; Well….

Flashback;

Voice; PRIESTESS OF GENBU!

Takiko; I'm not the priestess of Genbu…

Voice; PRIESTESS OF GENBU!

Takiko; …I'm not the priestess of Genbu…

Voice; PRIESTESS OF GENBU!

Takiko; OKAY, HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU PEOPLE? I AM NOT THE…

Voice; but you get a hot guy at the end…

Takiko; …sounds good enough for me. Hey everybody! I'm the priestess of Genbu!

End flashback;

Takiko; but you know…Limdo wasn't too happy about it.

Flashback;

Limdo; If you become the priestess…you will be killed…

Takiko; you know Limdo…here I am, offering you this awesome, real life friendship, and possibly hopefully probably something more…and what do you do? You tell me that I'm gonna die. That isn't a very positive additude, mr! you know what you need to do?

Limdo; you aren't listening to me...I'm telling you that…

Takiko; ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE! CAN'T WHISTLE! CAN'T WHISTLE WHISLTE WHISTLE! ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF DEATH!

Limdo; …

End flashback;

Crin; …AH! CANDY! OMG!-throws candy at Takiko-

Takiko; WHAT THE?!

Crin; I HATE YOU AND YET WE'RE BEST FRIENDS!!!! AAAAAAH!!!!!! EAT THE CANDY!

Takiko; ARE YOU ON SOMETHING?!

Crin; -stops and smiles- of course not! Tee hee! So did Sarin ever come back?

Takiko; oh…yeah…

Flashback;

Soren; -playing animal crossing- dude…this is so awesome…I can run around doing absolutely nothing and yet earning a ton of money while talking animals give me the exact same messages while I never speak a word! Life can't get any better than this man!

Limdo; AHA!

Soren; -whirls around- OH! Uh…-turns TV off- hey, Limdo…I've been looking everywhere for you…and yet here you are! Psh, what are you talking about? I haven't been playing animal crossing this whole time…

Limdo; Ii haven't said anything…

Soren; oh…well, what the heck do you want from me?

Limdo; you're my only friend Soren…I'll never have another one like you!

Soren; shut up Limdo! NO ONE LIKES YOU! YOU'RE ALWAYS NAGGING! YOU'RE THE REASON FOR MY PAIN! AH,, I'M SO EMO I'M GOING TO KILL MYSELF! –offs himself-

Limdo; -stares- …angst…angst….angst….angst….all my friends always die….ah….

Takiko; what am I, chopped liver?

End flashback;

Crin; so wait, Soren dies?

Takiko; Yeah, he died.

Crin; …Soren dies? –repeat 3x-

Takiko; …anyway…but eventually we fell in love, despite our stubborn ways.

Flashback;

Limdo; Takiko!

Takiko; yes?

Limdo; I love you! KISS ME!

Takiko; although I love you, there is no freaking way I'm going to kiss you with your hair in your face.

Limdo; What?

Takiko; yeah…I mean its always in your face. it gets in the way of kissing and seeing your facial expressions…pull it back!

Limdo; …I can't…it's stuck this way…

Takiko; sucks for you.

Limdo; ….WATASE!!!!!! CURSE YOU!!!!!!

End flashback

Crin; you two had a very odd relationship.

Takiko; and we still do.

Scene change to Crin sitting alone in the room, singing the cake song while eating cake

Genbu pops up

Genbu;…what are you doing?

Crin; hey Genbu! When's the party?

Genbu; What party?

Crin; you know, the party!

Genbu; there is no party.

Crin; well….then I guess you don't get any cake.

Genbu; then you're not invited to the party.

Crin; so there is a party?

Genbu; no Crin, no party, you lose.

Crin; EPIC FAIL! AAAAH!!!

-throws candy at Genbu-

Crin; AND I HATE YOUR MUSTACHE!

Genbu;….ah…

Crin; skips down the hallway singing the cake song

The end


	16. Chapter 14

"It looks like our two lost students have finally found their way back to class." A few students snickered at the teacher's comment. Takiko limped into the room after Limdo, holding her crutches in one hand as she maneuvered around some desks. "Please take your seats; I'm sure your legs are weary after that long journey."

It seemed that this teacher enjoyed torturing Takiko. She took her seat with Limdo seated next to her. For the first time since he had taken that seat she felt relaxed, not afraid of a casual touch or accidental bump. Limdo seemed to notice this release of tension between them and smiled at her. That smile was dazzling.

"Listen up, this next assignment is a major grade." Hagus caught their attention and they both turned away from each other to look at the board. "You will be researching your family tree, seeing how your family fits in the great puzzle that is history. I want each of you to find as much information as you can. You will have one ancestor which you will focus on and report on their life. That person will be the ancestor that you know the least about." There were a few groans that went up.

"That's right; I don't want to hear about your aunt Ruth and her ten cats that you visit every summer. I want you to find out about the past. I want you to discover who you are by looking at who you have been." His eyes locked onto Takiko, then broke away again. "Of course I mean that in a completely figurative sense."

Limdo got up and passed out the papers they had retrieved. Each one had the due date and the instructions for the assignment. They had a little over a week to complete it, enough time for most of the people in that class. Then again, most people in the class didn't have their entire family in another country half a world away. That tended to make any research of family members difficult.

A few minutes, and a little more explanation of the assignment, later history was over. Takiko watched as Hagus gathered his things together and walked out the door, followed by Limdo who claimed that he needed to use the restroom. She realized that he probably was going to talk to the teacher for some reason, though she wasn't quite sure what they would talk about. She had begun to realize that when it came to Limdo it was best not to ask questions. When Limdo finally reentered he had a giant scowl on his face.

Takiko spent the rest of the day pondering over the problem of how she was going to be able to do the assignment. Sure she could try to look things up on the internet but there probably lots of other girls with the name Takiko Okuda and that didn't mean she'd find specific history about her family. She could always just call home and ask her parents, but they were hardly at the house and when they did answer their cell phones they were too busy to talk to her. She'd have to find some other way to gather the information she needed to complete the project.

"Nancy?" She spoke into the phone as she walked down the street pushing past passerby. "I need to see if I can cancel my jobs for the rest of the week. I'm going to take a trip home."

A long pause came from the other line then finally Nancy spoke. "I'm only letting you do this because you haven't been home for four years. I expect you to be back by next Monday. I'll send you the flight information once it's booked. Have fun." The line clicked to a close. Takiko stared at the phone, unsure what to make of this sudden change of mood from Nancy. She was hardly ever this kind, but Takiko wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Takiko went back to her apartment and started packing. She wasn't sure if she should bring all my designer clothes or just go with the regular clothes the people back home were used to her wearing. Takiko decided that her designer clothes not only looked better but fit her better and shoved them unceremoniously into suitcase. Two bags for clothes, one bag for shoes, and a backpack for the necessities, that included a book to read, candy, her ipod (known as po), and a book of Sudoku. All of these things were a must for a flight trip that ended up being over twenty-one hours when you added up layovers. She checked her email for the flight information; she'd be leaving at twelve, which meant she'd have to get to the airport by ten. It took her till late that night to finish packing, and then she finally could collapse onto her bed.

Takiko's alarm clock woke her with the noise of an early morning radio show. She had forgotten to set it to a later time instead of when she was supposed to go to school. She was about to go back to sleep when she remembered that she still had school and was missing it for the trip. She would have to tell them that she was leaving, which meant stopping at school on the way to the airport. That would make the time when she was have to leave even earlier than she had originally planned. She hurriedly pulled her clothes on, nothing fancy since she would be sitting in a seat on an airplane almost the entire day, and called for someone to help her bring her luggage down to the ground floor. Once that was taken care of she took her backpack and her Louis Vuitton luggage to stand outside her door.

As she stood there she heard the door to her neighbor's apartment open. She looked and saw Crin step out, her hair pulled into two buns and her eyes decorated with eyeliner in fanciful swirls at the edges. She wore knee high boots with heels that looked like they could kill someone, and the wearer's feet. When you couldn't pick out your own clothes because of a uniform you had to stand out somehow.

She was yelling something back into the apartment, though Takiko couldn't hear what she said. It took Crin a second to notice her standing there, but when she did it was obvious.

"Oh my golly gee willikkers! You're not moving are you? Because that would be dreadful, leaving me to fend for myself with these idiotic boys. Of course my Tomite's not an idiot, Limdo is the idiot, Tomite just goes along with his stupidity sometimes." Crin walked over to where Takiko stood. She smiled, obviously joking, but there was a hint of worry in her eyes. Takiko could tell that Crin didn't like the idea of her leaving. _Is she that attached to me already?_ Takiko wondered.

"No, I'm not moving. I just am going home for a week. It's been a few years and I also need to find stuff to help with the research for that project we were assigned in history. My flight leaves in a bit, I'm just waiting for someone to help me with the luggage." Takiko motioned to the bags piled around her.

"Oh, you shouldn't worry about that. I'll just have Limdo and Tomite carry them down for you." Her smile reached her eyes now, the worry gone. She turned back toward her apartment. Takiko expected her to walk back and call to them to come help. Instead she cupped her hands around her mouth in a makeshift amplifier "_Limdo! Get your butt out here now!"_ The roar of her voice caught Takiko off guard. How was it possible for such a little person to create so much sound?

Limdo stumbled out his apartment, his hair still slightly damp from a shower. He looked out of sorts, as if he had just woken up and was not fully awake. The unbuttoned shirt he wore was further proof that he hadn't been expecting to be rushed so early in the morning. Takiko blushed a little at the sight of his bare chest, but she instantly put that aside. He was just any other male, there was nothing special about him that made him mean anything to her.

"Crin what do you want?!" Limdo yelled. His face was angry, but when he saw Takiko it changed. He seemed almost, embarrassed. "Oh, Takiko. Good morning"

"Good morning." Takiko politely replied. She wasn't sure what she felt for this man anymore, whether she loathed him or liked him. Heaven forbid she might even have feelings for him. The best thing to do while she was trying to sort out the emotions she now felt whenever she looked at him, emotions that both made her feel giddy and scared at the same time, was to just be polite. It helped that she would be gone for a week where she wouldn't have to interact with him and think things through some more.

"Limdo, Takiko is going on a trip. To Japan. Would you mind helping her with this luggage?" Limdo nodded, his eyes becoming worried. He walked over to Takiko's bags and easily lifted the two with her clothes_. I had had trouble just pulling them out the door and here he is lifting them easily one handed. Show off._

Takiko followed him down the hall to the elevator, Crin waving a goodbye. It seemed odd that she would just wave a goodbye when they wouldn't see each other in over a week. But then again, these people were a constant mystery to her.

"Where are you headed in Japan?" Limdo asked as they went down in the elevator. Takiko played with the fringe on her scarf, using that as an excuse not to meet his eyes.

"Tokyo. It's where I'm from. I'm going to visit family and do research for the project." The doors opened and Takiko stepped out, Limdo following close behind. They found a taxi and he helped her stuff my bags in the trunk. It seemed odd that she wouldn't see him for a week. She was finally used to his presence, even if he did still look at her in that strange all knowing way.

"I'd best be going." Takiko told him. She turned and put one foot in the taxi. Before she could get her entire body into it Limdo grabbed her and spun her around to face him. She blinked, unsure of what to make of what he was doing. Before she could react he put his lips to hers and kissed her sweetly. Then, just as quickly, pushed her gently into the taxi and left.

Takiko was startled. He had acted like he liked her, of course, but an outright show of affection? She didn't know what to make of it. Maybe he was just practicing for the show…that's it he was just practicing. She knew that she was just making excuses but it didn't matter. Maybe it was a good thing that she was going away for awhile. Then again, she couldn't help feeling a twinge at leaving him.

Takiko stopped at school and dropped her note off. Nancy had said that she would call in and say that it was modeling work that took her away so the school wouldn't think she was skipping. She hopped in the taxi and set out once more.

The airport was crowded. More crowded than Takiko had expected when the holidays were over. She stood in line at the security checkpoint for awhile, pulling a small bag that she would bring on the plain with her along with her backpack. She had learned that it didn't matter how important you were, if your luggage got lost it could be weeks, or never, before you saw your luggage again. Since then she always brought a bag with a change of clothes and essentials in case the worse did happen. She didn't want to be stuck in Milan without makeup or clothes again.

Finally through security, Takiko found her gate and sat down. The chair wasn't very comfortable and she kept squirming around and adjusting her position. The person next to her shot a glare and she finally stopped moving. She was anxious to just go, to see home again and to be somewhere where she was just like everyone else, not some famous Asian supermodel.

Takiko had a long wait. For international flights you had to report to the airport three hours prior to your flight. When the lady at the desk finally started calling for boarding of children and elderly she pulled out her earphones and put her book away. She was flying first class so she would be one of the next people to board. She stood and leaned over to pick up her carry on, only to be bumped into by someone.

"Excuse me." Takiko said as she turned to face the person.

"Sorry, some idiot pushed me. He was trying to take my candy" Crin grinned at Takiko, a sly look on her face. She turned to stick out her tongue at two people behind her.

"What in the name of all that is good in the world are you doing here?!" Takiko looked past her to see the two people who she knew Crin was with. There he was, his silver eyes looking at her over Crin's shoulder.

"Oh, well you see, we realized after talking to you that we needed to go back home to do research too." Crin rolled some very expensive Louis Vuitton travel bags to where Takiko was standing.

"But, you're from China." She looked at Crin, maybe they were going on another plane. There was no way they could get a flight this fast.

"Well, our flight is going through Tokyo to get there, so we're going to be flying with you." She was cool and collected, as usual. Takiko looked her over, she wore clothes that were obviously meant for both style and comfort. She recognized the jeans as a designer label that was extremely expensive and the top was obviously designer. In fact it looked like one the pieces she had modeled for Ralph Lauren earlier in the year. It was tight fitting black with a scoop neck and ruffles around her neckline line, a halter top.

Takiko heard the lady at the desk call for all first class passengers. "I have to go, I'm flying first class. I guess I'll see you when we make it to Tokyo." Takiko left quickly, trying to avoid looking at Limdo. She could feel his gaze follow her and she felt goose bumps start to prickle up on her skin. It seemed so strange that a man could hold so much power over her. Luckily they wouldn't run into each other at all, with her flying first class and them stuck in economy.

"I hope there aren't anymore surprises on this trip" She muttered to herself as she boarded. The seat was luxurious, one of the ones that turned into a bed for the long trips and had its own private compartment. The flight attendants were…attendant. A little too attendant for her taste. Wasn't it obvious that she didn't want champagne? She wasn't twenty-one yet, and Takiko was pretty sure the drinking age in Japan wasn't that low either.

As the other passengers boarded Takiko slipped on the ear plugs and eye mask that was always provided for overseas flights that went over night and set her chair to its bed state. She would start this trip like all the others, with a good long nap. She could afford to sleep for a long time, this was going to be an almost two day trip. First she would fly to Los Angeles, the plain would refuel and then they would be off to Narita airport in Tokyo. The trip would take well over twenty-one hours, with the flight from L.A. to Tokyo taking up eighteen of those hours.

Takiko slipped into a nice, long, and peaceful nap.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

When Takiko opened her eyes the plane was stopped. She asked the flight attendant that was walking by what was going on. She explained that they were stopped in L.A. and would soon be on their way again. Getting ready for another long haul she pulled out her book and started to read.

"So you like those kind of medieval fantasy novels do you?" Slowly, ever so slowly Takiko turned to look at the person sitting across the aisle from her. She thought that maybe if she turned slowly enough the person would disappear.

"Why yes, this is my favorite author. I like her books because the women don't care about men and do what they want without some man dragging them down." She said it through gritted teeth.

_Why God, why do you do this to me? I was just starting to get comfortable._

"Takiko, we're going to be sitting next to each other for the next eighteen hours, I suggest you get used to me in that time." Limdo leaned over across the aisle to look her in the eyes. "Don't tell me you didn't feel something when I kissed you. I could see it in your eyes."

It was true, Takiko had felt something. Something inside her that said "This is right, we're supposed to be like this". Why was she so afraid of romance with him? He was good looking, obviously interested, and genuinely talented. It just seemed like something…bad was going to happen if she fell in love with him. _Oh wait_, she thought to herself, _too late. I already have_.

Luckily Takiko was spared giving an answer by the flight attendant coming down the aisle and shooing Limdo to sit properly in his seat for take-off. Takiko scanned the rows in front of her as the plane started to move again. There was the head of Crin swamped by something that resembled a giant lacy marshmallow, she must have brought her own pillow. Next to her sat Tomite, she saw that their hands were intertwined across the aisle. There was a couple that loved each other.

"So they're getting married?" Takiko asked once the plane was in the air and the roar of the engines had dulled slightly.

"I warned him against it but he won't listen" Limdo answered.

"Do you really not like her?" Takiko wanted to know.

"It's not that. We just clash. And it's not because of me, it's because she constantly feels like challenging me and seeing what she get away with before I go over the edge. She also always calls me 'idiot' or 'stupid face' for some reason." Limdo looked over at Takiko. "Hey, why are you giggling?" He didn't say it in a mean way, he had a smile.

"She doesn't do that to Tomite though. They seem completely in love."

"That's true. If she was beating up on him all the time like she does to me then I'd really object. I just am not sure if I'll be able to put up with her for forever more." He sighed and looked like he was going to say more but Crin turned and glared at us.

"Stop talking about us! You have better things to do." She turned back and resettled herself onto her pillow. I saw a lot of people turn to stare but ignored them.

"Sometimes I wonder if she has me bugged or something, there is no way her hearing is that good." Limdo and I were now leaning over the sides of our seats to talk to each other. We talked for a while more, about school and life and the upcoming show.

"You seem like two different people at times, it's so hard to figure you out. Sometimes you're so friendly and other times you're like an ice princess. Except of course, you're a man." Here something could be cleared up.

"I think the correct term would then be ice prince, but that's if we're getting technical." They both laughed, and when they had control of their giggles Limdo continued on. "I know it really doesn't make sense but I've basically lived two lives. My first one was really harsh and it was a constant struggle to stay alive. The second one, it was nice, warm and caring with friends and not having to worry about if you're going to live to see the next day." His expression was…complicated. Way too complicated to read.

"Oh, I get it," Takiko said, "You must have had a tough time as a kid or something."

He smiled a smile that would have made me fall over from melting if I hadn't been sitting down. "You could say that."

"Ehhem…Please excuse me but it is time for the dinner service." They broke apart and ordered their meals. There was a movie playing on the mini tv in the front of their seats and they both settled in to watch it. It was a romantic comedy, one that Takiko had wanted to see while it was in theatres but never got the chance. It wasn't even out on dvd yet so she couldn't see it that way. It was strange to hear Limdo laugh at the same time that she laughed, and a little awkward when the two characters started making out and she could feel his eyes on her.

_Must look at screen, must keep straight face._ Became her inner mantra throughout the movie. Finally when it was over she turned to look at him.

"Funny, I hadn't figured you the romantic comedy type." Takiko smiled at him. She tried to play down her nerves at talking to him after seeing that moving. Too many times had she slipped into thinking _What if that were Limdo and I?_ It was then that she slipped back into her silent recitation of _Must look at screen, must keep straight face._

"It's crazy what a person will do for love isn't it? Even look for that person across worlds and eternity." Those eyes, those eyes just bore into her like the eternity he spoke of. There was a universe of emotions on those eyes…

"Miss? Miss are you alright?" The flight attendant roused me from what I knew was going to be another blackout leading to happy fantasy land with Lady Limdo.

"I'm fine, just a little dizzy." Takiko sank into her chair and started to slide it into the bed position.

"Takiko?" Limdo's voice was anxious.

"I'm fine, I'm just going to sleep some." She did just that.

**KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK**

**Konban wa, Konichiwa, and Ohaiyo gozaimasu to all you readers. (Sorry if I spelled that wrong, it's weird not writing it in hiragana and I hardly write greetings anyway…) So here it is, the long awaited chapter. Gosh, it's been a while hasn't it? Well, as usual it's because I was grounded. I know, what you're thinking "Why are you always grounded?" Well my parents are strict and my grades haven't been where they should be and they went BALLISTIC! Not to mention I was in a musical at school and, unlike the past musicals I've been in, we had to put it together in two months. So basically I was at school till around 10:30 every night and was dead tired. I'd also like to say my dad is a hater of fanfiction and says it likes its some horrible disease. I don't know why he hates it but as soon as he sees me writing it he just goes off about how I shouldn't waste my time and that it's horrible and stupid and all this stuff. Oh well, that's why parents go to bed early, to let children stay up and write on the computer. So yeah, it's spring break and I'm home so I can write. Yes, this chapter could have been longer but it was a good stopping point. So there. Why do I write such long author's notes you ask? Because I like to that's why!**

**So, I apologize for the long wait. Being a reader of fanfiction myself, I know how horrible it is to wait and wait for the next chapter. I can't promise anything at this point, never know what might set my parents off next, but i'll try to get another chapter up soon.**

**Oh, and about the spoof. Yes we made one, no it wasn't posted on Youtube. I think it was posted on google or something...but anyway it was too long for youtube and we couldn't make it short enough. I'm just gonna say that i've lost over 12 pounds since we shot that so if I look icky it was the lighting and i hadn't lost weight yet. SO THERE!**

**Just have to put in here. NEW SEASON OF AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL! I am a huuuuuge fan of the show and am going to apply as soon as I am eligible (stupid age restrictions….) So, I totally don't just make up all my modeling knowledge, I research and watch a show all about modeling. You have no idea how much research I do for this fanfic…all these designer clothes and everything…ug…Don't get me wrong, I love fashion I just get sidetracked by it and end up wasting hours looking at clothes. **

**So yeah, that's my life right now. I'm still working on my book but my grounding extends to that so it hasn't progressed too much…**

**Well, mata ne for now**

**Ari, Out!**

**p.s. if you don't already read it, as I know most of you do, check out You Know You've Gone Insane When by IamAliceCullen. It's the first of a trio that I help to write though it's mainly written by Alice, I mostly do the Crin stuff and help her come up with all the crazy ideas and give motivation. Support my BFF Alice and read her fanfic!**


	17. Chapter 15

"Miss, you need to put your seat up for landing." Takiko was woken up by one of the flight attendants. She looked around, surprised to find that light now flooded into the cabin.

"I didn't think it was possible for someone to sleep that long, but I've just been proven wrong." Limdo leaned over to look at her. She wanted to throw a pillow at his face. She said so and he laughed. "Not a morning person are you?"

"I would be if someone hadn't woke me up when I was in the middle of a nice dream." Takiko opened the window shutter next to her to look out. There stretched out before her were the waters and coast of the country she called home. That woke her up and soon she had pulled out some sudoku and started to fill in the little squares with the correct numbers.

Limdo seemed to realize that she wasn't going to talk to him anymore and pulled out his own book. Takiko glanced over to see what he was reading and was shocked to find it was a mystery thriller she had read not too long ago. It seemed they shared a common liking of books. At least when it came to that genre. She doubted he would be into the girly romantic fantasy books she enjoyed so much.

He seemed to notice her gaze and looked up from his book to smile at her. Takiko quickly looked back down at her sudoku, trying to force the blush from her cheeks. Finally she felt the jarring landing as the plane hit the ground. She looked outside to the landscape of the city she grew up in. Home.

The passengers gathered up their belongings and left the plane. Takiko went over to where she saw Crin standing with Tomite. The two of them together made such a good couple, him in his punky shirt with jeans and her in her laid back sophisticated style. She realized something was missing, or someone rather.

"Where's Limdo?" She asked as she came to stand next to them.

"He went to go see which gate we have to go to catch our next flight, he won't be long. Do you want to wait with us?" Crin pulled out a bag of Sour Patch Kids and waved them in front of Takiko. "I have candy…" Takiko grinned and stuck her hand in to grab a few of the sour treats.

"Look here comes Limdo." Tomite walked up to Limdo who was hurrying towards their small group. His expression seemed like there was something wrong. They soon found out when he went running off again to leave Tomite to explain.

"There seems to have been some error with our tickets, the flight we booked doesn't exist and the next flight to Beijing isn't for another two days for some reason." He shrugged and looked at Crin. "Looks like we're going to have to book a hotel room for all three of us." Crin sighed and looked off into the distantce, her face showing she was deep in thought.

"We _could_ get a hotel room" She said slowly "Or we could stay with someone. How many spare rooms do you have at your place Takiko?"

"One but-" Takiko started

"Perfect! Limdo can sleep on the couch so that means we'll have plenty of room. Let's go get our luggage and head out." Crin started walking off with Tomite in tow. Limdo soon joined up with them saying he had tried to get a spot on the next flight but the airline would have to call him back. Takiko didn't have time to protest them moving in with her for the time being. She wasn't mean enough to tell them no, but then again she wasn't sure her parents would approve of three strange people sharing the apartment with her. _I suppose it doesn't matter_, she thought, _my parents are probably away on business trips and they'll only be staying for two nights._

"Tokyo oh Tokyo" Crin started to sing as they walked out to the car pickup area after receiving their luggage. "I love Tokyo!"

"Is it just me or is she acting a little stranger than usual?" Takiko asked as they waited for their car to arrive.

"Oh she gets these bursts of silliness when she has sugar. Sometimes I think she gets drunk off candy." Tomite smiled at his fiancé. He was such a sweet guy, Limdo could learn a thing or two from him.

"Is _that_ what we're going to be riding in?" Limdo's voice broke through the crowd noise. Takiko looked to where his gaze was and saw what he was talking about.

"You didn't know? They provide complimentary limo service to where you're staying when you fly first class." Takiko knew she sounded a little snooty, but she was just joking. It was funny to see his reaction to something that had become routine for her. And hadn't they flown first class? They should be used to it if they could afford something like flying first class. Then again how _could_ they afford flying first class?

Takiko put those questions aside as they loaded into the car. It was fun to see their faces as they drove through the crowded city. She knew that they had come from an equally big city, but there was something about Tokyo that just seemed to amaze people.

It took a while for them to reach Takiko's family's apartment building. The traffic was terrible, as usual, and the apartment wasn't anywhere near the airport. Unlike her apartment in New York this one was far from the center of the city and was in a small complex in a residential neighborhood. Since her parents were never home that often they had gotten this apartment as a retreat from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Of course the apartment was the penthouse and took up the whole first floor of the building, though it wasn't really an official penthouse since the building was only seven stories tall.

As the limo pulled up they stepped out and into the bright sun. Takiko was flooded with a sense of comfort, it was good to be home.

"Wow Takiko, nice place." Crin shielded her eyes from the sun and looked up at the building.

"Yeah, it wasn't what I expected." Tomite said, coming to stand beside Crin.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Takiko wasn't sure if she liked what they seemed to be implying.

"It's just that you seem so cold. We expected you to live in a high-rise in the city, not in a nice little neighborhood." Seeing her expression Tomite back peddled, "Not that there's anything wrong with your apartment back in New York, you're just..you know…a jaded New Yorker."

"Do you want to stay with me or not? Because if I'm too 'jaded' for you, you can find a hotel to stay at." Takiko growled out as she took her luggage from the driver and gave him a tip.

"No this is fine." Limdo walked up to her, his eyes of the building. "You ready to show us the way? It's pretty hot out here and I'm in the mood for a nap."

"You're all just a bunch of moochers…" Takiko grumbled as she walked up to the elevator.

"But you love us anyway!" Crin said in a singsong voice as she skipped merrily past Takiko. She was a different person when she had candy, not so serious. It was kind of weird actually. But these three were all full of weird mannerisms, not to mention the striking resemblances to people that she saw in visions.

She sighed. This was supposed to be a relaxing trip where she didn't have to worry about anything that was troubling her back home. Takiko wasn't sure if this trip would actually turn out to give her way more headaches than she was already having back home.

"Voila, home sweet home." The sarcasm dripped from Takiko's tongue as she pushed open the door and let the three, practically strangers, enter her childhood home.

"Oooh, so this is where you get it from." Crin said as she walked around the dim living room. Takiko flicked on the lights and surveyed her surroundings. She wasn't sure what the comment was supposed to mean, but at the same time she kind of knew what Crin was getting at.

Her parent's apartment and her apartment were decorated very similarly. Both had black leather couches, both had stainless steel appliances and a modern kitchen. It was just all very modern. And what was wrong with modern, she had no idea.

"My parents are away on business so they won't be home while we're here. The spare bedroom is where the boys can sleep, while Crin and I can sleep in my room." I started leading them into the wing of the apartment that held the bedrooms.

I pointed to the guest bedroom, which had its own bathroom attached. "You two, in there. I'll call you when dinner is ready."

"It sounds like you're grounding us." Limdo joked, though his eyes were serious.

"You have a problem with me not wanting you to wreck stuff in my apartment?" Takiko asked him as she started walking toward her room.

"Aww, but Takiko that's no fun. Me and my fiancé can share a room so you can keep an eye on Limdo, so he isn't a bad boy." Crin grabbed Limdo's luggage and flung it into Takiko's room, then grabbed Tomite and flung him into the guest bedroom. For a girl as small as she was that was a pretty astounding feat.

"But of course" she said, poking her head out of the door, "If you want him to be a bad boy he can!" She winked and slammed the door shut. Takiko heard the lock click and felt her face turning _very_ red. _Note to self, never let Crin get near candy again._

"So Takiko, looks like we'll be spending the night together." Limdo had already set his luggage down in her room. He looked around at the various decorations she had on her walls, mostly bare except for a few posters and a bookshelf.

The room wasn't nearly as messy as the one Takiko had back in New York, since she hadn't lived there in a while. The maid had obviously cleaned it regularly, so dust wouldn't build up, and leaving the blinds open to let the sunshine in.

Takiko walked over the window, looking at the little trinkets that the light danced off of. The place seemed so familiar, but at the same time so distant. It wasn't home, not anymore. She felt safe here but still it seemed as if this was only a haven in times of need. Not a true home to live in.

But if this wasn't home that what was home? Her apartment in New York didn't have a feeling of home either. Just a place to live, not a place where her heart was. So where was her heart?

"Takiko, are you okay?" Limdo walked up and put an arm on her shoulder. A warm feeling flooded her body, her heart began to pound a little faster, and where his hand met her shoulder there seemed to be an electric buzz.

"Limdo?" Takiko turned and looked up at him. His face was engulfed in the light that poured in through the window. His features each clearly defined. The line of his nose, his cheeks, his soft silver eyes, the soft mouth.

Looking at that face she felt a sense of comfort and belonging.

"What is it Takiko?" Limdo started to lean down, his eyes on her eyes. The buzzing that had started in her ears turned into a roar. As his face got closer, it started to blur and change.

Takiko stood on a field somewhere. Far off she could see mountains and a small village. Where she was there was nothing but grass, and a lone figure.

Standing in front of her was no longer Limdo, but a man that looked very much like him. The planes of his face seemed more angular, more defined. His eyes were the same silver, but were clouded with hidden thoughts, emotions, and pain. He was wearing an outfit very similar to the ones she had seen the other's wear in her visions before, and the girl Limdo wore such clothes as well.

As if on cue, a different version of Limdo appeared, his girl self. Takiko watched as, standing side by side, they put their palms together. Then, turned into one person, the Limdo that she knew.

"You see? You were right." Takiko spun and faced, well herself. She looked in wide eyed shock at herself, dressed in a simple hakama.

"Right about what? That I'm going crazy?" Takiko followed the strange version of herself warily, afraid that at any moment she might attack. Because aren't all twins evil twins or something like that? At least in the movies they are.

Evil twin Takiko giggled. "You're not crazy, you're just a little…confused? I guess that's the right word. I'm here to help with that confusion as much as I can." She pointed to the stoic Limdo. "Take him for example, you're right. He is her. I know it's a little hard to understand, but you really must try. With each revelation comes another piece of the puzzle, and with each piece of the puzzle I become closer to you."

"I'm not sure if I want to be any closer to you. I'm already crazy enough as it is." Takiko turned around and started walking across the field, hoping if she walked long enough she might be able to get somewhere.

Her doppelganger appeared in front her and cut her off. "Listen Takiko, nothing seems clear right now. I understand that. But the more you try to understand, the more things will become clear."

"Why can't you just leave me alone? My life was fine before you came along, and now everything has turned topsy-turvy!" Takiko felt tears start to well up in her eyes.

"Look, I want to make one thing clear: Things are just going to go downhill from here. If you don't hurry and remember soon I can't guarantee that you'll make it. It is imperative for your survival, and mine, that you remember all that _has_ happened so you can know what _will_ happen and what to do _when_ that happens." She looked me over for a second. "And, your life is not fine. Though it's different from mine, and mine was fairly horrid, you should now that a life without love and affection is no life at all. Look what it's done to you, you're practically a robot , just going through the motions."

"What's wrong with that? I live a good life, I'm a famous model and I got a lead in a musical." Takiko glared at the other version of herself in front of her. Who did she think she was telling her all these crazy things and insulting her on top of that?

"Who do I think I am?" The other Takiko let out a laugh that sounded like the winkle of bells. "I am you, and you are me. We're the same person." Takiko took a step back, how did she know what she was thinking?

"It's obvious how I know what you're thinking, Like I said, we're the same person. Now, I have to go or Limdo is going to be very angry with me, well with you. With both of us. This is very confusing…Give him a kiss for me, well, us." The other Takiko started to fade, her form disappearing along with the rest of the scene to be replaced by Limdo's extremely concerned face.

"Oh good, it's you." Takiko sat up, clutching her head in her hands. Limdo leaned away from her, an extremely perturbed look on his face.

"What do you mean, 'it's you'!" He yelled at her. _Uh-oh, upset the delicate internal balance of Limdo._ "Who else would I be?!"

"A girl for one thing, since you apparently like to wear some pretty weird girly clothes and grow a chest out of nowhere." Takiko pushed herself onto her bed. Her head was throbbing terribly and every time she tried to pin down exactly what she had talked to her twin about in her weird vision it kept slipping away.

"What did you say?" Limdo voice suddenly turned soft.

"Um…that you like to cross dress in your free time?" She slowly lowered her hand and stared at him. Had she hit on some big secret, or was he going to start explaining some things, which sounded pretty good about now.

"So you're saying you remember?" Limdo started toward her. Takiko suddenly became extremely aware of how small her room was, and how she was on her bed. Why did Crin have to abandon her?

"Well, I'm saying that every time I black out I have these weird visions, and somehow you always seem to be a girl. And okay, maybe I'm crazy but still, you are pretty crazy too." Takiko leaned away from him even more, almost to the point where she was laying down on the bed, Limdo looming above her.

"So you remember then? You remember the book and all that happened?" Takiko tried to move away from him but the pounding in her head was too great to really concentrate on anything. With each new word that Limdo said another painful spike went through her brain.

"Book?" Was all she could get out before having to clench her jaw against the pain.

"Yes Takiko, the book. The Universe of the Four Gods. You met me when I was chained up for execution. You were the priestess of Genbu. Do you finally remember?" Takiko looked up at him, clutching her head. Her vision went black with one final great stab of pain.

"Why do you always do this to me?" Limdo stood over her shaking his head. Takiko reached up to feel a cool cloth that was placed on her forehead. She has laying across her bed, and Limdo had pulled up a chair to sit next to her.

"Do what?" She asked, sitting up and clutching the cloth to her head, which oddly had a dull ache.

"Black out like that. I mean, you've already done it twice within the last hour. Do you have any idea the heart attack I had when you just keeled over? I mean…I thought you had finally remembered" His eyes were full of grief that he tried to hide. But Takiko could see it, an emotion that ran that deeply was hard to hide.

Takiko searched her brain for what had happened when she had woken up from that odd vision. The ache in her head grew worse and she decided to stop.

"I-I can't remember…" She looked at Limdo, now full of worry. Not only did she pass out and have weird visions but now she couldn't even remember some crucial minutes that she had spent alone, in a bedroom, with Limdo.

"But, I was sure that you had remembered, I mean you said that you thought I was a gi-" Limdo was cut off by Takiko's shout of pain. She had doubled over on the bed, her head seeming like it was on fire. It took a few minutes for it to get back to normal, but at least she hadn't blacked out again.

"Maybe I'm not supposed to remember, "she said, almost to herself. Limdo's face lit up with what seemed like…anger.

"What do you mean you're not supposed to remember, you have to remember!" For some reason the wind in the room had picked up, even though the window was closed. And somehow she knew instinctually that in order to get it to calm down Limdo would need to calm down as well.

"Well, at least not now. I mean, isn't it obvious? If whenever you try to tell me something that I'm supposed to remember I get a horrible headache or pass out then obviously it's not time for me to remember. Something is blocking these memories and until that thing is gone then I can't fully understand what you're saying to me."

"Or someone…" Limdo muttered, almost imperceptibly.

"What?" Takiko sat up, leaning toward him a bit.

"It's nothing. I just…Takiko I want you to know that no matter what happens or doesn't happen; I want you to know that I lo-"

"HEY GUYS!" Crin burst in to the room, holding a phone to her ear.

"What is it Crin?!" Limdo snarled at her.

"Well excuse me! I just wanted to know if you wanted pepperoni or cheese pizza. I'm just going to leave now." She started to leave, apparently not noticing the daggers that Limdo was now shooting at her with his powerful silver glare. "Oh, Takiko, did you want anything?"

Takiko stared blankly, then remembered what was going on. "No, I'm fine" she answered, "I'm just going to bed now, I'm really exhausted from the plane ride."

Takiko shuffled into the bathroom and got her pajamas on. She tried not to think about what Limdo was saying when he was interrupted by Crin, though it was hard not to think about it. There was only word that jumped to mind when she heard the syllable "lo". And she wasn't quite sure she was ready to face what that one little word entailed, especially when her own feeling were in such a turmoil as it was.

Maybe it was best to not think about it. It wasn't like he was going to mention it again, right?

Takiko dragged her tired feet back to her room, where Limdo had made a makeshift nest of covers and pillows next to her bed. She hadn't thought that he was serious about sleeping in her room with her. It turned out, he was.

As she turned out the lights and snuggled under the covers she heard the door open and then close quietly. Limdo didn't make a sound as he walked across the floor and then finally went to sleep. At least she thought he went to sleep because she heard the sound of the covers move and then nothing except his steady breathing. It was starting to lull her to sleep when suddenly it stopped for a second as he started to say something.

"Takiko, I lo-"

"Shut up Limdo, I have to go to sleep!" Takiko rolled over, keeping her face away from the side of the her bed that he was sleeping next to. She couldn't face this, not now.

But, he seemed determined because the next thing she knew he started saying again "Takiko I-"

"I said I'm trying to sleep! Some people suffer jetlag you know!" By now she was holding her breathe, waiting for another response. But none came. The silence and darkness engulfed her and she slowly started to drift along the currents of sleep.

The last thing she remembered she wasn't sure whether she dreamed it or not. It was a gentle voice, carried on a breeze. "Goodnight Takiko. I love you."

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

**WOW. It's been a long time hasn't it? SO I know I'm a horrible, terrible author and I should just stop, but if I stopped there would be no more story!**

**Yeah, I have excuses but you probably don't want to hear them. I will say that I was offered a part in a show at my local community theatre that is actually a paying role so that's pretty exciting, and I did spotlight for another show (my first time doing tech crew!). And tonight, in celebration of the Tonys I decided to put this chapter up for you.**

**Also, I want to that you people that actually reviewed. Yeah you! You nice people who thought it would be a good idea to tell me how you feel about this story! Well pat yourselves on the back because you are the whole reason why I started writing this again. If you all review, I will write. It's when I feel like "eh, what's the point, no one reads it anyway" that I stop writing. SO REVIEW!**

**Oh, and I apologize for the weird first person, third person switches in the last chapter, I thought I had caught all of them but apparently not. I do not recommend writing to stories that are written from different points of view at the same time, it really messes you up.**

**OH, just a heads up, I'm going to Europe for two weeks so if you review a lot then get mad that there wasn't a chapter up that's why.**

**So it is now that I say goodbye for now!**

**If you review I will write more!**

**Auf Wiedersehen (can you tell where I'm going?)**

**Ari, OUT!**


	18. Author's Note and Preview

Dear Lovely readers…

I feel bad. I know what it's like to not get updated on a story for a very long time. My favorite author does this to me repeatedly, waiting several years to release the next book. So here I am, reading reviews and thinking "Gosh, I should probably finish that chapter I started writing a year ago. Yeah, probably should get on that. I can't guarantee anything because I have been ridiculously busy, what with shows, and graduation from high school, and book, and high school, and social, and high school. So, here is a tidbit to keep you satisfied for now:

Takiko opened her eyes to a pre-dawn glow. She had fallen asleep earlier than usual last night which meant she woke up earlier than usual that morning. After looking around she remembered where she was and what she was doing there. Her early wake up meant that she could get an early start on what she had come to Tokyo to do in the first place.

"Right, time to get down to business." Takiko swung her legs over the side of the bed and pushed herself off it. But instead of feeling soft carpet her feet landed on something that wriggled underneath her.

"Takiko! You're standing on my face!" Takiko quickly tried to step off Limdo but only managed to topple on top of him, which put them in a rather awkward position.

"What are you two doing making noise so early in the morning?" Crin burst into the room then stopped as soon as she saw what was going on. "Well if you wanted to do that, why didn't you just put a Do Not Disturb sign up? Tomite will have breakfast ready in a bit. Have fun you two!" Crin winked then shut the door, leaving the dumbfounded Takiko and Limdo still lying together in a heap on the floor.

"Um, it's fine if you want to stay like this Takiko but I can't really breathe too well." Limdo looked down at Takiko, who was sprawled out across his chest. She quickly scrambled off him and adjusted her clothes, though luckily they had stayed relatively put.

"Next time warn me that you're sleeping there!" Takiko yelled at him as he started to get up as well. She could feel her cheeks heating up with a blush. It always seemed that just at the wrong time an awkward situation would happen between the two of them. It was almost as if someone else was pulling the strings.

An image flashed through Takiko's head of a girl that looked like her in an old timey outfit. But just as quickly as she thought of it she couldn't really pinpoint what she had thought of. She shook her head to try to rid herself of the clouded feeling in her brain then set about getting ready for the day.

She was acutely aware of Limdo as he watched her go around the room, picking out this outfit or moving that pair of shoes. He even followed her as she went to go into the bathroom.

"Um…I kind of need to get ready, you should probably get some breakfast." She closed the door in his face and waited till she heard his footsteps disappear to get changed.

When she emerged from the bathroom and walked out into the kitchen she was reminded of just how strange her life had become. Crin sat next to Tomite and opposite Limdo at the kitchen table. She wore a dress that was a deep blue overlaid in black lace, hints of fluff showing from under the skirt and ruffles at the end of the long belle sleeves. Even though it was an outfit that seemed a little eccentric for everyday wear Crin pulled it off flawlessly because of her looks and very aura. She was a girl that carried an elegant and dark beauty.

Tomite on the other hand was very laid back in his style, preferring just jeans, a long sleeved under shirt to keep out the cold and a t-shirt over that. Limdo was the one that didn't fit in at this table, still just in a pair of sweats and without a shirt.

These people were all so different from what she had ever thought of when the word friends had floated through her brain occasionally. But somehow, she didn't mind. They certainly made things a whole lot more interesting.

"Hey stupid," Crin imperiously stretched her hand out to Limdo, "pass the syrup."

"Tomite, I think I hear some very annoying bug, you should probably squish it." Limdo grinned evilly at Crin as he poured syrup all over his pancakes.

Tomite sighed, "Limdo, just give her the syrup."

"That's right Limdo, just give me the syrup," Crin, her voice sugary sweet reached across the table to grab it from him. Limdo in turn yanked the syrup out of the way, squeezing the bottle in the process so it got a bit on one of Crin's perfect ringlets.

"Maybe that'll sweeten up your personality some Crin!" Limdo laughed, only to be cut off by a swift flying roundhouse kick to the side of the head. Limdo retaliated and soon an all out brawl ensued between the two of them, with Tomite happily eating away at his home made pancakes.

Yes, a very interesting life indeed.

Takiko cleared her throat in an attempt to make the fighters stop for enough time to allow her to get some breakfast. Limdo paused for a second to look at Takiko, leaving himself open for Crin to give him a swift punch in the gut. He doubled over in pain as Crin skipped back to the table, an evil grin once again on her face.

"Do join us Takiko, Tomite worked very hard on making these pancakes from scratch this morning." Crin pointed to a plate stacked high with pancakes at the only remaining untouched chair.

Takiko sat but didn't start eating right away. She wanted to discuss what the plans were for the day and exactly how long she would have to put up with them as guests before their flight home.

"I want to go to the town hall to see if they have some records there I can look into. I came here to do research, so if you three want to go sightseeing or something you will have to do it on your own." Takiko looked from Crin to Tomite to see their response. It wasn't them that answered though; it was Limdo who had seemingly recovered from the painful punch.

"We'll go with you, help with your research. It will be easier to find things if there are four of us looking." He looked at Tomite and Crin for confirmation. When they each nodded their heads in reply he looked satisfied.

Takiko was slightly annoyed that they were going to go with her just because it meant that she would most likely not get a moments peace. They did make a good point however, and she was mostly happy to accept their help.

"That sounds fine. We'll head out as soon as everyone is ready. " She turned to Limdo, "You need to go put some clothes on; you are the only one here who isn't dressed and ready."

He reluctantly pushed away from the table leaving the other three to finish breakfast in peace.

A little while later they were all ready to go. Takiko was about to open the door for them to leave when Crin said that she thought she had left her wallet on the bed in the guest bedroom, and asked Takiko if she could go retrieve it for her. Why she couldn't just get it herself, Takiko had no idea, but she reluctantly agreed to go back and get it for Crin.

After looking for a few minutes and finding nothing Takiko started walking back out into the front room. She stopped in the hallway when she heard the hushed voices of Crin, Tomite, and Limdo drifting down the hall.

"You can't be serious about this; we should make her go back right away. It is too dangerous here!" Crin could barely contain her rage.

"You said yourself that without her remembering we can't get anything accomplished, and if what Tomite thinks is right then that means her past is the key to it all!" Limdo shot right back.

"You're the one who's supposed to be in love with her, are you really willing to put her in so much danger? You know that they are here and looking for her. The only reason she hasn't been killed yet is because they're too stupid to figure out that she's modeling in a whole other country. They just think that since she's on the magazines here she must be here." Crin's voice was dangerously venomous as she said the next part, "You're not really in love with Takiko anyway, you just love her because she looks like _her._ When are you going to realize that they are two different people?"

So as you can see, things are heating up and more will (hopefully) be on the way soon. Keep reading and writing the loving reviews (at least I hope they are loving).

Ari, out!


	19. Chapter 16

Takiko opened her eyes to a pre-dawn glow. She had fallen asleep earlier than usual last night which meant she woke up earlier than usual that morning. After looking around she remembered where she was and what she was doing there. Her early wake up meant that she could get an early start on what she had come to Tokyo to do in the first place.

"Right, time to get down to business." Takiko swung her legs over the side of the bed and pushed herself off it. But instead of feeling soft carpet her feet landed on something that wriggled underneath her.

"Takiko! You're standing on my face!" Takiko quickly tried to step off Limdo but only managed to topple on top of him, which put them in a rather awkward position.

"What are you two doing making noise so early in the morning?" Crin burst into the room then stopped as soon as she saw what was going on. "Well if you wanted to do that, why didn't you just put a Do Not Disturb sign up? Tomite will have breakfast ready in a bit. Have fun you two!" Crin winked then shut the door, leaving the dumbfounded Takiko and Limdo still lying together in a heap on the floor.

"Um, it's fine if you want to stay like this Takiko but I can't really breathe too well." Limdo looked down at Takiko, who was sprawled out across his chest. She quickly scrambled off him and adjusted her clothes, though luckily they had stayed relatively put.

"Next time warn me that you're sleeping there!" Takiko yelled at him as he started to get up as well. She could feel her cheeks heating up with a blush. It always seemed that just at the wrong time an awkward situation would happen between the two of them. It was almost as if someone else was pulling the strings.

An image flashed through Takiko's head of a girl that looked like her in an old timey outfit. But just as quickly as she thought of it she couldn't really pinpoint what she had thought of. She shook her head to try to rid herself of the clouded feeling in her brain then set about getting ready for the day.

She was acutely aware of Limdo as he watched her go around the room, picking out this outfit or moving that pair of shoes. He even followed her as she went to go into the bathroom.

"Um…I kind of need to get ready, you should probably get some breakfast." She closed the door in his face and waited till she heard his footsteps disappear to get changed.

When she emerged from the bathroom and walked out into the kitchen she was reminded of just how strange her life had become. Crin sat next to Tomite and opposite Limdo at the kitchen table. She wore a dress that was a deep blue overlaid in black lace, hints of fluff showing from under the skirt and ruffles at the end of the long belle sleeves. Even though it was an outfit that seemed a little eccentric for everyday wear Crin pulled it off flawlessly because of her looks and very aura. She was a girl that carried an elegant and dark beauty.

Tomite on the other hand was very laid back in his style, preferring just jeans, a long sleeved under shirt to keep out the cold and a t-shirt over that. Limdo was the one that didn't fit in at this table, still just in a pair of sweats and without a shirt.

These people were all so different from what she had ever thought of when the word friends had floated through her brain occasionally. But somehow, she didn't mind. They certainly made things a whole lot more interesting.

"Hey stupid," Crin imperiously stretched her hand out to Limdo, "pass the syrup."

"Tomite, I think I hear some very annoying bug, you should probably squish it." Limdo grinned evilly at Crin as he poured syrup all over his pancakes.

Tomite sighed, "Limdo, just give her the syrup."

"That's right Limdo, just give me the syrup," Crin, her voice sugary sweet reached across the table to grab it from him. Limdo in turn yanked the syrup out of the way, squeezing the bottle in the process so it got a bit on one of Crin's perfect ringlets.

"Maybe that'll sweeten up your personality some Crin!" Limdo laughed, only to be cut off by a swift flying roundhouse kick to the side of the head. Limdo retaliated and soon an all out brawl ensued between the two of them, with Tomite happily eating away at his home made pancakes.

Yes, a very interesting life indeed.

Takiko cleared her throat in an attempt to make the fighters stop for enough time to allow her to get some breakfast. Limdo paused for a second to look at Takiko, leaving himself open for Crin to give him a swift punch in the gut. He doubled over in pain as Crin skipped back to the table, an evil grin once again on her face.

"Do join us Takiko, Tomite worked very hard on making these pancakes from scratch this morning." Crin pointed to a plate stacked high with pancakes at the only remaining untouched chair.

Takiko sat but didn't start eating right away. She wanted to discuss what the plans were for the day and exactly how long she would have to put up with them as guests before their flight home.

"I want to go to the town hall to see if they have some records there I can look into. I came here to do research, so if you three want to go sightseeing or something you will have to do it on your own." Takiko looked from Crin to Tomite to see their response. It wasn't them that answered though; it was Limdo who had seemingly recovered from the painful punch.

"We'll go with you, help with your research. It will be easier to find things if there are four of us looking." He looked at Tomite and Crin for confirmation. When they each nodded their heads in reply he looked satisfied.

Takiko was slightly annoyed that they were going to go with her just because it meant that she would most likely not get a moments peace. They did make a good point however, and she was mostly happy to accept their help.

"That sounds fine. We'll head out as soon as everyone is ready. " She turned to Limdo, "You need to go put some clothes on; you are the only one here who isn't dressed and ready."

He reluctantly pushed away from the table leaving the other three to finish breakfast in peace.

A little while later they were all ready to go. Takiko was about to open the door for them to leave when Crin said that she thought she had left her wallet on the bed in the guest bedroom, and asked Takiko if she could go retrieve it for her. Why she couldn't just get it herself, Takiko had no idea, but she reluctantly agreed to go back and get it for Crin.

After looking for a few minutes and finding nothing Takiko started walking back out into the front room. She stopped in the hallway when she heard the hushed voices of Crin, Tomite, and Limdo drifting down the hall.

"You can't be serious about this; we should make her go back right away. It is too dangerous here!" Crin could barely contain her rage.

"You said yourself that without her remembering we can't get anything accomplished, and if what Tomite thinks is right then that means her past is the key to it all!" Limdo shot right back.

"You're the one who's supposed to be in love with her, are you really willing to put her in so much danger? You know that they are here and looking for her. The only reason she hasn't been killed yet is because they're too stupid to figure out that she's modeling in a whole other country. They just think that since she's on the magazines here she must be here." Crin's voice was dangerously venomous as she said the next part, "You're not really in love with Takiko anyway, you just love her because she looks like _her._ When are you going to realize that they are two different people?"

"Crin stop it, you're being unfair! It is her, even if she doesn't know it yet." Tomite soothing words were obviously meant to calm the tension, but as Takiko stepped around the corner the murderous look on Limdo's face made it obvious that emotions were still running very high.

"I couldn't find it" Takiko said, barely containing a nervous laugh.

"Oh, silly me, I had it in my purse this whole time!" Crin had reverted back to normal, smiling pleasantly at Takiko. There was a dark undertone in her eyes however, and Takiko only had to glance over at Limdo to know that he wasn't as good an actress as Crin. "Well, sorry about that lets go."

They all piled into the car as Takiko turned the key. She was unnerved by the conversation she had just heard and her hands shook as she took the wheel. But despite her unease she pulled easily out of the driveway and onto the small suburban street. Soon they were zooming down the road and for once all three passengers remained quiet.

_ What did she mean I look like her?_

Takiko knew there was something missing that she should know. Like an itch she couldn't scratch. It was bothering her that these people she had only just met seemed to know so much and now they would be helping to find out even more. They seemed more interested in her than Takiko herself.

Not only that, but for some reason she was extremely bothered by the idea that Limdo did not like her but someone else. Hadn't he said last night that he loved her? If that was true then why would it matter if she looked like someone else? Plus, she didn't even like him in the first place. That kiss meant nothing, the good time on the airplane meant nothing, and he was still annoying and creepy

Ok, who was she kidding; it all meant something to her. And the idea that he did not love her but loved someone that looked like her bothered her more than anything else. The mystery was deepening and now more than ever she wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"Uh, Takiko, you're driving on the wrong side of the road." Crin pointed out from next to her. She had been too lost in thought to notice that she was driving on the right side of the street and not reverted back to the left as they did in Japan. She quickly pulled the car into the proper lane. Luckily they were still on small suburban roads so no one had noticed her mishap other than those in the car.

"Are you alright? You seem out of it." Crin laid a hand on her arm in a comforting gesture.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired." Takiko shook off the hand and focused on driving for the time being. After what seemed like a lifetime of a silent car ride they finally pulled up in front of the small library that also housed the records of the small suburb city where her family had lived for several years.

"So, I guess we can start with death records. But if some of us look at newspaper articles while the others look at the death records then we can hit two birds with one stone." She led them up the steps and into the building. This was where it became helpful that they all knew Japanese. She would not have to worry about translating anything for them and could just give them simple instructions. Right now they were told to find any references to her parents and grandparents. She didn't tell them but what she was most interested in was the mysterious past of her grandfather. That she would pursue alone and let everyone else find the tedious facts that she most likely knew already. They soon split up and she headed over to the computers.

"Enosuke Okuda…" She searched the name in the library's database. To her surprise there were several references that popped up on the screen. Most interesting of all was a collection of books by him.

Takiko didn't know much about her grandfather, her entire family didn't know much about him. He had appeared in the city one day, and fallen in love. He never spoke of his parents or where he was from, even if he had any family left behind. All he would say about his past that he was a writer.

The fact that there were books written by an Enosuke Okuda did not necessarily mean that he had written them, but that was something to look into. Instead she clicked on the links that were records. There was a marriage announcement, an article from a local newspaper about the birth of their first son, and another about his mysterious disappearance. After that nothing, no mentions of his name anywhere. She printed out what she could find and then went to look at the books that were supposedly written by him.

The search brought her to a small room set apart from the rest. It smelled musty, and she sneezed at the dust that floated in the air. These books were very old, barely staying bound together. The pages were torn and water damaged and the binding frayed. Still, there was something alluring about ancient books that contained knowledge and stories that were otherwise lost to time.

She started browsing through the aisles, half looking for the books by her ancestor and half stalling.

"Takiko!" She turned around, startled. The voice seemed familiar but she couldn't quite place it. Once again the call came "Takiko!" This time it sounded more urgent. She started to walk toward where the voice came from. It called a third time to her, the yell a desperate cry for help. She ran through the stacks at breakneck speed, then stopped suddenly as a book fell off the shelf right before her feet.

She bent over and picked up the delicate old book. Dusting off the cover which was strangely dirty she saw the title, The Universe of the Four Gods by Enosuke Okuda. Odd, the book was written by her grandfather and somehow had just happened to fall in front of her. There was something strange going on here.

"Takiko!" This time the call wasn't hard to place, it was Limdo, walking quickly toward her. His eyes grew wide when he saw what she was holding.

"What is it?" She asked, questioning both his reaction and the paper he held in his hand. He still stared, unmoving so she grabbed the paper herself.

It was a copy of an old newspaper article, several years old. Old enough to be from when her grandfather was still a young man. She glanced through the small typing then stopped when she saw something familiar.

Takiko Okuda

Her blood ran cold, all her energy was now focused on the paper in her hands. She read it now with more concentration on what it actually said. It was an article about Enosuke Okuda killing his daughter and committing suicide after the death of his wife. Suddenly all movement seemed to slow, even her heart almost seemed to come to a stop. Takiko drew one shaky breath then

BOOOOM

She was thrown forward by the force of the blast, desperately clutching to the book and the piece of paper she held in her hands. Several large chunks of debris hit her, and her back was now a mess of ash and blood.

As all of this happened she wasn't really aware of what was going on. Instead she paid attention to the small scenes playing in front of her vision and mingling with the flames.

It was a traditional style house, a woman lay on the floor, her face drawn with pain and longing. An old school building and several girls practicing with naginata in the front school yard. A man, who she now recognized as her father, desperately trying to keep her from disappearing again. The woman who had been so pale and lonely now covered in a sheet of black. Takiko's own body racked with pain as she coughed blood into a handkerchief. A young man smiling down at her and her heart filled with warmth, but at the same time a distant feeling of longing for someone else that was lost to her.

Finally one singular image of herself, dressed in a traditional style and holding a naginata, smiling and beckoning her forward. "Takiko, this is your past. But you still have much to remember about those you love and the ones you lost. Now quickly, run!" The image disappeared, replaced by the burning shelves all around her.

It took her a second to realize where she was and what had happened. Some sort of explosion was all she could guess. She couldn't really think on how a library had managed to randomly explode at the moment, she had to find a way out.

That was easier said than down though, since black smoke engulfed everything and most exits were blocked by a wall of flame. Now was a time to keep a level head and not panic…

"_How can I not panic in this situation!" _She screamed out as she collapsed on the floor of the room she was sure she was now trapped in. She had inhaled a lot of smoke and now was coughing with each breath, something she now knew she was used to. She didn't know what to do or where to go, there was only one thing she could think of at that moment. But it was crazy; he was probably thrown by the blast just like she had. For all she knew he was laying somewhere unconscious.

"TAKIKO!" The feral cry caught her up as she turned and looked straight at Limdo. But he wasn't Limdo, he was girl Limdo. Her eyes grew wide with shock, knowing that this wasn't a vision and a real person standing in front of her.

"Limdo?" He caught Takiko up and cradled her in his (her?) arms.

"I'm getting you out of here." He leaped and barreled through the flames, putting out a hand and somehow blasting through a wall. Suddenly they were in the open air, flying quite a ways above the ground. Takiko clung desperately to the person carrying her, scared of the drop below. She didn't have to worry too long though, as she was soon set on the ground a few blocks away from the library.

"Stay here." Was all he told her, his voice now several keys higher than normal. She nodded mutely, too subdued by the strange goings on to really ask questions or react.

As she watched him jump back into the air her legs which now felt like jello gave out beneath her. She collapsed on the pavement, uncaring of the strange looks she got from the few people passing by on the street. Her clothes were now torn and scorched, her flesh was as well. Several bits of debris were in her hair and lodged into her skin from the initial blast. But at least she now knew she was safe from whatever was going on.

"Takiko…" The voice came from behind her. Her body went cold with remembered fear. She slowly turned, her body breaking into a cold sweat.

Standing behind her was a man with very beautiful features; a soft face, long hair, a delicate frame. But the beautiful face was distorted by a look of carnal pleasure. Takiko knew that it was time to run.

She stumbled to her feet as hysteric laughter emerged from the person behind her. Her legs pumped beneath her, fear taking over the exhaustion and pushing her forward.

"Where are you going priestess? Do you want to play a game of hide and seek, you can hide and I'll SEEK!" A dagger attached to a long rope imbedded itself into the wall in front of her. She screamed and backpedaled, trying to run the opposite way. Her path was similarly blocked there by another dagger rope. All she could do now was stand and wait for the blow she knew was inevitable.

A shadow fell over Takiko and when she looked up she saw the petite form of Crin leaping from the top of the building that Takiko was now backed up against.

"I choose you, Namame!" Crin threw something ahead of her and it spiraled through the air to land solidly at Takiko's feet. It was a small stone figure shaped like a person, hands raised like a gymnast on landing. Crin landed crouched, one hand to the ground to steady her.

"Don't worry Takiko, Namame and I can protect you while Limdo is otherwise occupied." She threw back her head a vicious grin on her lips, the grin of a predator. Takiko only flattened herself even more against the wall, scared of what was coming next. Crin pulled out a small pole of bamboo from seemingly nowhere and gave it a flick of her wrist. It expanded to be five feet long with a pointed spear at the end. She launched herself into the air, straight at Takiko's now surprised assailant.

Meanwhile, the little stone figure waddled over to Takiko and planted itself squarely at her feet. It looked up at her and she saw that it had a little face, which was now looking quite worried. It waddled closer and gave her leg a hug, then turned and flung its hands out in a protective gesture. It would've been funny that this little creature made of stone thought that it could protect her if she wasn't so freaked out by everything that was going on.

She looked back up to where Crin was now battling it out with the strange man. She seemed to somehow be flinging shards of ice at him with one hand while the other expectedly maneuvered the long bamboo spear. From where she was standing it seemed Crin had the upper hand, and despite her confusion and fear Takiko started to relax a little.

It was too early for that though since Crin's opponent had found an opening and now flung a dagger straight at Takiko. She cringed backward, only to suddenly be plunged into darkness as she was encased in a dome of stone. She fell on her knees in relief and cradled her head in her hands. She felt the beginnings of a headache start to creep onto the edge of her mind.

The clang of metal echoed from the other side of the stone wall then suddenly quieted. The stone shield was retracted and replaced by the small stone figure again. Crin stood alone on the street, a triumphant smile lit her face. She wiped at her forehead, now smeared with blood and sweat, and put her bamboo spear away somewhere in the folds of her dress.

"Well Takiko, I would have preferred to alert you to this danger in some other way but at least now you know what we're up against." She walked over to Takiko, not seeming to care that she bled profusely from a wound on her thigh. Takiko just stared, wide eyed. Her head seemed ready to explode. She tried to will it to calm down, she wanted to remember this and get some answers finally.

The last thing she saw was Crin's worried face. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she dropped to the pavement in a crumpled heap.

**I am too tired to think of something witty to say here. So yeah, i said i was going to update soon and i did. I know what you are thinking, you are mad that this all happened and now she's just going to forget it again...hehehe...wait and see what happens next! Yeah...i realized that when i started this fanfiction i had just started doing theatre, now i have nine shows under my belt with leads in four of them. I say that's a pretty good start. Right now i'm doing The Mikado which is actually kind of Japanese ish. It's pretty fun but i have rehearsal practically everyday until late and they tire me out.**

**I want to sleep now**

**Ari, OUT!**

**Oh, and please review. It is honestly your heartfelt reviews that say "i really love this story, please write more" and such that make me saw "awww maybe i should pull myself away from the two books i'm currently writing and have fun with some fanfiction" So please review!**

**p.s. If you can't find the genbu spoof that's because it was too long for youtube. I think it might be on google videos. But i just want you all to know i don't look a thing like that anymore. I've lost 40 pounds, dyed my hair red, and gotten a completely different haircut. So yeah, i must say i am much cuter now. Maybe I'll make a facebook...**


End file.
